Inc.com’s article Business Owners Rank Internet as Most Important Marketing Tool speaks to the marketing efforts of small companies. The poll only involved 250 business owners so it is a small sample size, but let me unpack the article this way:
While e-mail may top the list of Internet-related activities, many small businesses have begun implementing online advertising strategies. Of survey respondents, 59 percent use online ads and 68 percent utilize search engine optimization “sometimes” or “often.”
Business owners are making efforts to increase their Internet presence. Forty-four percent say they plan on spending more on Internet tools this year compared to 2006, while 27 percent plan to spend the same amount as last year. The amount small businesses will shell out for their Web activities varies, with the largest group (45 percent) spending less than $2,500.
Seems like these owners are driven to invest in their company’s Internet presence. But then there is this:
Online social tools like blogs and message boards, however, are not as popular an option for business marketing. Almost half of small business owners never use a blog, 37 percent never visit message boards or chat rooms, and 59 percent have never tried the virtual world of Second Life.
Grouping blogs, chat rooms and Second Life together is quite a stretch. But half of the owners never use a blog? That is remarkable to me. These owners are missing out on volumes of information that could benefit their company.
Also, investing in a blog for their own company would seem to be an investment with a tremendous return – especially if 44% are planning to spend more on Internet tools this year. Personally, I can say that this blog has dramatically changed our business in ways we never imagined when we first started it.