There are a number of new options for small business owners who want to stick a toe into the digital waters of social marketing to evaluate its impact. These are web marketing services that can put you in the swim pretty fast. And, as always, there is a caution.

The Feb. 23 Small Business section of the Wall Street Journal highlighted five (Groupon, LivingSocial, BuyWithMe, IMshopping and FourSquareLabs) with simple case studies of businesses that tried those services.

Each service uses its existing digital platform and online marketing expertise to work with small businesses that may want to put a digital “pitch” out to a broad social networking audience in their area.

For example: A Chicago tailor tried a one-day promotion through Groupon, last October, where potential customers could, for $95, purchase a $225 gift certificate, redeemable for up to one year on any product (men’s suits and shirts) the tailor offered. The “digital pitch” sold 850 gift certificates to people who went to the web site looking for bargains. How did they find the web site bargains? “We were all over Twitter and Facebook that day,” said the owner of the shop. The 850 certificates sold was the limit set by the tailor… the number of orders his shop could handle. It also was his limit of exposure to discounted sales dollars.

The caveats: For the offer to be in force, the web-marketing company set a minimum of 50 orders. If 50 orders were not received, then the offer was null and void… and the web disclaimer stated this. The cost of the promotion for the tailor was half of the realized revenue… or $47.50 per order.

So how did it work? Well, the tailor was “on line” in less than an hour after committing to the promotion, so it was a very fast test that proved dynamic, quite rapidly. The price tag was hefty… his net benefit was just $47.50 for $225 in delivered value. But, what was gratifying is that 460 of the orders (88%  because some buyers purchased more than one certificate) were from new customers. The tailor shop had never sold more than 100 gift certificates in any past year. But, was it worth it? “It’s going to depend on how many of these customers return,” the tailor said.

Another of the marketers, FourSquare Labs, did something a little different. With a restaurant client, for example, FourSquare’s web site offered a phone app to customers that allowed them to “check-in” to the restaurant with the app and let their friends know where they are. The users get restaurant credit… and to earn more, that info can be Tweeted and Facebooked to their networks.  In essence, the restaurant’s customer is helping market the food and friendship, with benefits such as discounts, free desserts, entrees, etc. The restaurant, a Milwaukee eatery, says business is up 30% because of the effort.

The win-win here is more than the potential of increased business. Says one marketing expert, “Entrepreneurs who tap into the trend may boost their exposure and be perceived as cutting edge. It’s sort of a signal that you’re up with things.” And no, it is not for everyone. But, is it for you?

Visit these marketing service sites by adding .com to the end of the name and take a look for yourself. They are all a little different and you’ll see what others are doing… but it’s all there for your initial evaluation. One promise… you’ll learn stuff.

Jerry Constantino, March 1, 2010

Jerry Constantino was President and Publisher of PJS Publications, a group of 20 special interest magazines owned by VS&A Venture Capital and later, Primedia. He now writes fiction and blogs irrelevantly at itsnutsoutthere.blogspot.com.

Note: Post not sponsored.

Can you believe it… launched in 2004, Facebook is already starting to gray around the temples. That’s how fast the digital world moves… but read on… what comes around, goes around. Here are the U.S. stats:

Baby Boomers, those aging ‘recent learners’ between 42 and 62 years old, represent the largest Facebook growth group in the last year. Their numbers almost doubled. Today, about 45 million Boomers actively maintain a Facebook profile. There is a limit, however, to their reach… only 13 percent of them Twitter.

Then there are 30 million, or about 61%, of the Gen Xers (28-43 years old—the laughingly tagged ‘middle-aged’) who Facebook.

As you might expect, youth must be served. About 77% or 50 million of the Y-Generation/Millennials (ages 11-27) are Facebookers. This used to be the most coveted group because it represented new growth. But watch out! The target is always moving and youth will be served.

The newest ‘group’ that shows the greatest promise to replace the old, the dying and the discontented, is the iGeneration (loosely overlapping young teens  down to the youngest to hold a mouse—‘the kids’). Kathryn Montgomery, the author of Generation Digital, says these youngsters “don’t remember a time without the constant connectivity to the world that these technologies bring. They’re growing up with the expectations of always being present in a social way—always being available to peers wherever you are.”

Says child and adolescent psychologist Dave Verhaagen, “They’re less interested in learning facts and learning data than in knowing how to gain access to it, synthesize it and integrate it into their lives… It is simply part of their DNA. It shapes everything about them.”

OK. Where does this leave us… the ones trying to ‘leave no human left behind?’ Well, it keeps us hopping. Since technology never stops, we are like the Keystone Kops trying to catch the lawbreaker… always chasing, always on the run. That’s why we read Strategic Social Networking (SSNblog.com) and everything else that comes our way. Bottom line: They won’t come to you. You have to go to them.

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*NBC reports Sarah Palin uses Facebook and Twitter to control her message… and I add, to be sure to touch the digitally connected who may not read the hard copy.

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*With college football’s recruitment season in full swing, more and more coaches are using social media to stay NCAA-legally in touch with their prospects. Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh uses his Twitter page to let the 2011 class of athletes know he knows their name. He may tweet “I see you, 760” referring to the players home area code. So how does he know his prospects tweet? C’mon… you can’t be serious.

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Facebook by the numbers: 400 million active users (with 70% being outside the U.S.)

* 5 billion pieces of content shared weekly * 3 billion photos uploaded per month *  60 million status updates per day * 35 million users who update every day * 130 friends per user (ave.) * 55 minutes per day typical use. (Source Facebook as referenced in USAToday.)

Jerry Constantino, March 1, 2010

Jerry Constantino was President and Publisher of PJS Publications, a group of 20 special interest magazines owned by VS&A Venture Capital and later, Primedia. He now writes fiction and blogs irrelevantly at itsnutsoutthere.blogspot.com.

Note: Post not sponsored.