Social media marketing requires commitment, SMBs told

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) must be prepared to put in the hard yards if they wish to capitalise on social media trends.

According to Matt Eve, owner of Betterbusinessresults.com, websites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are only an effective sales and marketing resource if a company is committed to keeping its profile updated.

Companies cannot simply create accounts and post a few messages while their enthusiasm for the channel is high, and then wait for increased sales, he noted.

Mr Eve explained that social media accounts must be updated on a regular, potentially daily basis, as the whole point of social media is that it facilitates real-time conversation.

As such, businesses can only boost sales if they are prepared to participate in ongoing conversations, as they originate and develop.

"In more traditional marketing, you can get away with sending a monthly newsletter or sending out sales letters every quarter," Mr Eve said.

"Now everything is much more instant and you have this constant requirement to provide content - whether it is articles, or Twitter tweet or Facebook updates. If you're going to do it properly there is actually quite a lot of work involved."

ClickThrough Marketing recently reminded SMBs of the virtues of patience when it comes to social media marketing.

The firm explained that the channel can only have a positive impact on a company's bottom line if there is a long-term commitment.

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