Small Business Marketing Trends for 2012: Video Blog, Part 1

The weeks around New Year’s always come with lists: best of, worst of, and of course, trends. This post falls into the “trends” category. And one small business marketing trend that most experts can agree on this season is “SoLoMo” — social media, local, and mobile marketing. Each of these three practices has grown explosively in the last several years. But 2012 is shaping up to be the year that makes them indispensable for most small businesses.

In the video blog entry below, small business tech expert and pbSmart Essentials contributor Phil Simon discusses the separate elements of “SoLoMo,” and why each one will be crucial for small businesses in 2012.

“SoLoMo” is in the spirit of integrated marketing, and none of the elements need to stand alone in your marketing campaigns. Check out these articles for more information on how to tie social media, local, and mobile marketing to other channels.

• Combining email and social media marketing: As we move into 2012, two additional trends have emerged. One is that most of us still check email several times a day, even if it is often via our smartphones. The other is that social media usage shows no signs of slowing down — Facebook has more than 800 million active users, and half of them log in at least daily. It only makes sense to tie these two spaces together. pbSmart Connections lets you sync your email marketing with your Facebook and Twitter streams. Check out the following article for more information: What’s the Big Deal About Integrating Social Media and Email Marketing?

• Local marketing can be effectively targeted with the right marketing tools: One simple way to market to your local community is via direct mail. Beyond letting you easily create a complete direct mail campaign online, pbSmartMarketer offers a feature that allows you to target your market via ZIP code.

• You can get into mobile marketing with QR codes: All businesses can easily start their mobile marketing efforts with QR codes. pbSmartCodes makes it simple create codes, matching mobile landing pages, and marketing pieces for promotion. To learn more about QR codes, check out this article: Mobile Marketing with QR Codes.

What Next?

Take a look at our 2-part series on social media marketing trends for small businesses: part 1 and part 2.