Social Media is Starting to Over Take E-mail Marketing for Small Businesses

Here are the results of a fascinating new study from E-marketer on what online marketing channels businesses are actually using.  E-mail is still King – but social media is catching up quickly as small business owners begin to feel more comfortable with how to use social media platforms.

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Small businesses still rate “direct mail marketing” higher in overall effectivness – but social media ranks higher in “value” for money spend.  Of the different social media channels, Facebook is the most popular.

Of course, in the end, businesses will stick to the channels customers use.  I think we are in a time of experimentation as businesses try different methods to build relationships with customers.  E-mail might be more effective for some businesses (like banks and large retail) where customers have less reason to “like” (and intereact) with a a fan page.

And, of course, using multiple methods makes the most sense given the low barriers to entry.

What is working in your business right now?