Small business owners are hoping to engage customers in new ways in 2010. According to Ad-ology Research, 28% of small business owners say they plan to spend more on online video in 2010, up 75% over last year’s plans. Twenty five percent say the same about social networking, while 21% plan to commit more resources to mobile advertising.

Facebook was ranked the most beneficial social network for small business, followed by LinkedIn and Twitter.  These owners say the top business benefits of social networking are lead generation, keeping up with the industry, and monitoring the online conversation about their business.

E-mail marketing continues to be the most popular online marketing method for small businesses, but these numbers show increased acceptance for emerging media since last year’s study.

“Small business owners understand that the marketing landscape is changing, and they need to connect with consumers in new ways,” said C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research. “They’re still using traditional media, but they’re embracing these emerging media types as a way to take their business to the next level,” Smith said.

Twenty-nine percent plan increased advertising spending overall, targeting increased resources to online, direct mail, and newspaper advertising.

The Ad-ology Small Business Marketing Forecast reveals small business owners are generally hopeful, with more predicting increased sales in 2010 versus 2009, and one in five expressing optimism about the economy.

Other key findings from the study:

• 31% say they don’t use social media because their customers don’t use social media.
• More than one-third of these business owners plan to spend more time writing white papers and e-articles.
• 52% of small business owners surveyed plan to devote more resources to cause marketing in 2010.
• 42% plan to participate in trade shows or conferences, and the percentage of these planning to spend on trade publications increased 18% from last year.

The study was conducted in November 2009 by Ad-ology Research to analyze the attitudes and marketing plans of small business owners. The Small Business Marketing Forecast report is available for purchase through the Research Store at Ad-ology.com.

ABOUT AD-OLOGY RESEARCH

Ad-ology Research analyzes key marketing and advertising trends in over 440 industries and what motivates end-customers. The company’s research is used by over 2,000 advertising agencies, media properties, local governments, and product marketing departments across the United States. Ad-ology Research is a division of Sales Development Services (SDS), Inc. – a Westerville, Ohio firm founded in 1989.
METHODOLOGY

Ad-ology Research surveyed an online panel of 1100 owners of U.S. businesses with less than 100 employees in November 2009. The margin of error for this survey is +/- 2.95 percentage points.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Ad-ology trade name should be hyphenated in all printed references.

PRESS CONTACT:
Michelle O’Brien
(614) 794-0500 ext. 100
pressrelations@ad-ology.net

Does your agency Twitter? Or have a Facebook profile? If not, your agency could be missing out on a lot of free and far-reaching promotion, networking opportunities, and chances to build strong professional relationships. Launch magazine features an article that sings the praises of social networking, citing some eye-opening numbers from Forrester Research: “”Enterprise 2.0″ applications – buttoned-up versions of the Web 2.0 apps we all know and love – will be a $4.6 billion industry by 2013. Social networks will make up the bulk of that, with nearly $2 billion invested in them.”

But mastering the art of social networking as a marketing tool is much more complex than logging on once a week and posting a tweet here and there. The article cautions that social networking needs to be done right to be effective, and like any other form of promotion, needs to be considered carefully (what is the expected ROI? Audience? Time investment?). Launch offers some really helpful insight into how businesses should approach social networking, broken down into six do’s and don’ts based on insight from social media experts and entrepreneurs. The following is the first bit of advice, and the rest can be viewed here.

Be authentic.

“If you have a stuffy, bureaucratic culture, then don’t waste your time on social network sites,” says Joel Postman, principal of California-based Socialized, a consultancy that helps companies use social media in public relations, marketing and communications. “Applying old media strategies to new media is the biggest no-no. In the corporate environment, there are so many gatekeepers. Many large companies use Twitter or Facebook like one more corporate communications vehicle. But by the time someone sees something, it’s been so massaged and filtered – it’s lifeless. Be honest and original. For smaller companies, which are typically younger and more familiar with social media etiquette, the biggest no-no is to think social networking is a miracle cure that will take the place of all other PR or marketing initiatives.”

We’ve all heard of six degrees of separation. Business consultant Jennifer Capella takes this idea and applies it to the professional world in her article “Leveraging The Six Degrees of Separation.” According to Capella, this concept can be powerful when it comes to professional networking, and that “the power lies not only in knowing about [the concept] but in leveraging it successfully.” Just by taking this concept into consideration, a whole new outlook on networking can be adopted: You may only be a few contacts away from a new, lucrative client!

She suggests that before seeking out who might be a friend of a friend of a contact, and so on, one should first get to know his or herself. Self-awareness is key, and she writes that success in leveraging The Six Degrees is not possible without self-knowledge.”

For her advice on becoming more self-aware, read her article here.

How much do you really know about networking? Speaker/trainer/author Scott Ginsberg has put together a test that gauges the participant’s true knowledge of the fine art of networking:

1. The best definition of networking is:
   1. Schmoozing at meetings and events
   2. The solicitation of funds
   3. Building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships
   4. Marketing and selling your products and services to everyone in the room so you can meet your sales quota before your boss fires you
2. Why do you network?
   1. To develop your business
   2. To help other people
   3. To share information
   4. All of the above
3. What are the most effective ways to network?
   1. Regularly attending meetings, events and activities
   2. Talking to random people in the streets, stores, buses, and bathrooms
   3. Offering referrals, resources and recommendations
   4. It doesn’t matter as long as you help others first and remember that it ain’t [SIC] about you
4. True or False: Networking is not a skill, but rather a hereditary trait passed down from your father not unlike height or Male Pattern Baldness.
5. True or False: Networking isn’t always strategic, but frequently occurs by an accident and/or stroke of luck which falls in your lap like a gift from God.

To find out how you did, click here to get the results, as well as some tips from Ginsberg.