Last year enough data was stored to fill 60,000 Libraries of Congress. Four billion mobile phone users have turned into data-streams. YouTube says it receives 24 hours of video every minute. Companies are gathering more detailed data on the buying habits of their customers than ever before. According to the McKinsey Global Institute big data are the next frontier for innovation, competition and productivity.

Companies are using data to enable them to adjust prices and promotions. Manufacturers use sensors in their products that allow them to see if they need repair long before they break down. Auto manufacturers tell customers when their cars need to be serviced. And so on.

But companies also need to be careful to treat data as a slave rather than a master. All these analytics and mathematical numbers are great, but they can obscure the unreliability of some numbers that are fed into them. Garbage in, garbage out. When all’s said and done, there is no substitute for intuition and good judgment. But if used wisely, the ever-growing store of data can provide important insights for businesses, both large and small.

Talk to us about analyzing usage of your website to find just who is interested in your product or service.

Deal-a-day websites have changed local advertising dramatically in the last three years. Email blasts send out offers for discounts that sometimes last for only a few hours. Store owners get immediate revenue and can tell how many customers took advantage of their offer. Social media experts maintain this is not a fad but a new type of commerce that is changing how small local companies market their goods and services. Groupon is the number one site followed closely by LivingSocial. While these sites generate only a small slice of the online retail market, their revenue is growing faster than overall e-commerce. In April, Facebook starting testing a daily deal program in five US cities. Amazon has launched a site. According to social media experts, these sites are thriving because they benefit the merchants and the consumers and don’t require a great deal of tech know-how. There are critics. Some say their staff is overwhelmed when they put out some offers, and others maintain Groupon takes too big a cut, taking 30 to 50 percent of the revenue. However, a small company can cap the number of offers it puts out and these sites can bring in new customers that may result in repeat business.

Need help with this new method of local advertising? Contact us and we’ll guide you through the process.

Social Media Promotions To $38 Billion By 2015

Marketers are expected to spend $38 billion by 2015 according to Borrell Associates in Williamsburg, VA. That means those not using social media now had better begin to learn something about it. Businesses are currently servicing existing customers and generating leads with their social media resources.

Directing Word of Mouth

No business can completely control what is being said about it on the Internet. But they can influence it. And they do it through social media.

Typically businesses will have people singing their praises and some that are somewhat hostile. Monitoring tools, such as TweetDeck and HootSuite, can give a business access to statements made about their product or company. And then businesses need to promote their praises and control  their complaints. They can promote their praises by quoting or linking to positive statements made about them. And they can control their complaints by identifying and contacting the people complaining. From there they can do what they can to turn an aggravated customer into a happy one.

Visit Business and Social Media for more on this subject.

What do you plan to do with social media in the next few years? If you need some help, then contact Huck Huckabee

I grew up in a small family business. We knew all of our customers and they knew us,  personally. Social media is creating the opportunity for businesses online to develop a personal relationship with their customers no matter where they are. And businesses are taking advantage of this opportunity.

Social Media Makes It Personal

Local businesses have always had the advantage when personal relationships are important to a business. Business contacts become friends. They learn about each other. They’ve seen their business associates in person.

Today, in the case of a national business, personalized interaction via a blog, Facebook and other social media gives some of this advantage to companies on the other side of the country.  A photo on Facebook that changes on a regular basis can add an element of personalization that was reserved for local businesses in the past. The appearance, the hobbies, the interests and other personal traits create character that makes your business contacts your friends.

What Should You Do?

Your competition is going to get personal with the customers you are competing for no matter where they are located. To learn how this is going to impact your company, you need to ask yourself two questions:

1. Will they implement social media before your do?
2. Will they use it better than you do?

If your competitors do it first and win over your customers then it will be hard for you to get them back. And over the long term customers will migrate to the company with better social media correspondence.

The key is for you to get started quickly and stay ahead of your competition in providing value to your customers. Value can be created on social media through the sharing of information. Everything from product information to the achievements of your employees creates an image of your company. That image has value.

Social Media has become a strong tool for marketing. It allows businesses an efficient way to reach specific target markets. And they do it via two way communication.

How Do You Find Out What Your Customers Want?

You ask them via of social media. Businesses use blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social media tools to do just that. Microsoft’s big promo for Windows 7 has been focused on customers who told Microsoft what they wanted. Then Microsoft delivered.

If you are not involved in the Social Media Revolution then you need to get started. Still have doubts? Watch this video:

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People are talking about your business. Do you want to have some input? Of course you do. So get involved in the social media business.

Web 2.0 Class In Wadesboro, NC

Huck Huckabee

On Thursday, October 21st, 2010 at 1:00 PM I, Huck Huckabee, will be teaching a class on Web 2.0 for South Piedmont Community College. The class will be taught at their Wadesboro, North Carolina campus. It will be an overview of the interactive Internet. Learn how businesses are using YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other interactive tools to provide their clients exactly what they are looking for.

Contact Vince Holloman

To sign up for the class contact Vince Holloman. Call 704-289-8588 or send an email to vholloman@spcc.edu. Class size is limited so call now.

Business Website Building Class In Monroe, NC

Huck Huckabee

Learn the basics of building a website at South Piedmont Community College in Monroe, North Carolina. I, Huck Huckabee, will be teaching a class on the subject on Tuesday, October 19th at 5:30 PM.

Contact Vince Holloman

To sign up for the class contact Vince Holloman. Call 704-289-8588 or send an email to vholloman@spcc.edu. Class size is limited so call now.

Class On Blogging, FaceBook, and Twitter

Huck Huckabee

On Thursday, October 14th, 2010 I, Huck Huckabee will be teaching Internet Marketing Techniques at South Piedmont Community College in Monroe, North Carolina. Learn the basics on blogging, Facebook and Twitter. And learn how businesses can use these tools to there advantage.

Contact Vince Holloman

To sign up for the class contact Vince Holloman. Call 704-289-8588 or send an email to vholloman@spcc.edu. Class size is limited so call now.

Want to Learn To Use eBay?

Huck Huckabee

On Tuesday Oct. 5, 2010 at 5:30 PM I, Huck Huckabee, will be teaching my basic eBay course at South Piedmont Community College in Monroe, North Carolina. I will go over the basics of buying, but will focus primarily on posting and selling items.

Contact Vince Holloman

To sign up for the class contact Vince Holloman. Call 704-289-8588 or send an email to vholloman@spcc.edu. Class size is limited so call now.

Get An eBay Account

To get the most out of the class go to eBay and get signed up as a seller before the class.

Huck Huckabee

Incredible Growth In One Year

From April 2009 to May 2010, Pew Internet research indicated that social networking in the 65 and older age group doubled. And the 55-64 age group grew 88% in the same time period.  While the younger population still dominates the networks, older adults are catching up at a rapid pace. E-mail has long been the popular medium for the older adults. But, they are beginning to see and understand the benefits of Facebook, Twitter and other social media mediums.

Marketing Opportunity

This age group is the population that controls most of the wealth in the US. That creates a marketing opportunity. Newspapers are going the direction of the yellow pages. Other than the Wall Street Journal, almost all major newspapers are experiencing significant declines in their readership. More older Americans are getting their information from social media. And the social media is where marketers need to go to reach this market.

How does your business use social media to target older adults?