Small businesses are using content marketing and social media to drive sales in the second half of 2012.

A pair of studies highlight optimism among smaller companies heading into the second half of 2012, and each pointed to different types of new media marketing SMBs plan to use in hopes of ending the year as well as they expect.

Staples reported that 55 percent of responding small business owners said they have strong expectations moving forward this year. Many of these marketers pointed to new technologies adopted by their businesses that have enabled them to improve agility and efficiency. Moreover, 70 percent have or will soon make adjustments to marketing campaigns or other operations that they believe will position them strongly for growth.

One of these adjustments will be the adoption and integration of content marketing. SMBs that populate their websites with high-quality content can help drive more relevant traffic to their sites with a strong SEO strategy. Additionally, creating content that helps inform and engage prospects can position a business as a thought leader within its sector.

Developing a reputation as a leading source of industry news content or commentary can help keep prospects returning to a website and drive them close to conversion.

Developing a reputation as a leading source of industry news content or commentary can help keep prospects returning to a website and drive them close to conversion.

To help both goals – SEO and thought leadership – SMBs must develop a strong distribution effort for their site content. Social media marketing is a strong component of content marketing and essential to succeeding with myriad online marketing objectives.

According to a report from the j2 Global, social media marketing is also set for strong adoption among SMBs expecting strong performances in the final six months of the year.

“Small businesses have always been a driver of economic growth. Seeing their continued optimism, as well as their adoption of mobile technologies and social media, is a promising sign,” Mike Pugh, vice president of marketing for j2 Global, said in a release.

J2’s report shows that 37 percent of companies have found Facebook to be one of the best drivers of engagement and content distribution for them. Moreover, organizations operating in specific verticals have found success with varying social platforms. For example, ecommerce companies said that Twitter is an ideal platform for sharing site content and drawing consumers to convert.

Aside from sharing content on social networks, companies have found success with prospect outreach on channels in terms of customer service. Brafton recently highlighted data from a STELLAService that found more than half of business-related social engagement soliciting advice, voicing complaints or providing other feedback is ignored by companies. Amending this issue will help keep customers happy, and it provides examples of the subject matter that should be addressed with content marketing.

 

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.