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Ben & Jerry’s recently made what some would consider a ballsy move? They abandoned email marketing in favor of social media. While arguments can be made on both sides — ie, it was a good move or a stupid move – that’s not the point.

The lesson here is one every business can capitalize on. What is it?

Social media marketing is not a fad; it’s here to stay. And if you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon, you’d better bet your competition has, or plans to very soon. Proof?

50-75% of Businesses Worldwide Use Social Networks (eg, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)

According to a July 2010 post on BizReport.com entitled, Survey: Small businesses find success with social networking” on BizReport.com:

Social networks are now actively used by between half and three quarters of companies worldwide for  various networking functions . . . [and] 40% of businesses globally have found new customers via social networks.

While some may argue that Ben & Jerry’s have gone a little far in their adoption of social media marketing, the argument could be made that pouring a company’s resources into a marketing method that works is just smart business.

Social Media Marketing: It’s Biggest Advantage

Social media marketing provides immediate feedback. While email can be pretty immediate, a newsletter, for example, may sit in a prospects mailbox for days or weeks before it’s read. With social media marketing (eg, Twitter), prospects are primed to respond to tweets immediately – and constantly.

Perhaps the brand manager for the giant ice cream change said it best, ie: “Developing friendship and a relationship is key for us and social media [marketing] is the best place for that.”

PPC Summit is dedicated to bringing you the latest strategies, insights, and techniques for Internet marketing.  Search marketing, search engine optimization, and social media practices are constantly evolving.  Stay up-to-date and learn about special offers with PPC Summit’s monthly email newsletter, and it’s free!

Last month PPC Summit presented the B2B Search Strategy Summit and brought together the top minds in B2B Search Marketing from Microsoft, Google, Business.com, Marketo.com, YouSendit, Enquiro, SEO-PR, TopRankMarketing.com and HubSpot during a full day of search marketing and social media strategy sharing sessions. If you missed it, you can check out the upcoming search engine marketing and social media two-day event presented by PPC Summit…Search Marketing & Social Media Success scheduled for Sept. 21-22, 2010 in Los Angeles. View press release in full here.

Nearly 150 marketers attended the B2B Search Strategy Summit to hear from search engine marketing (SEM) and social media’s elite practicioners who spent the day sharing closely guarded secrets to online marketing success. 

The strategy sessions kicked off with an opening keynote from Gord Hotchkiss, Enquiro CEO, who shared findings from the comprehensive business-to-business marketing research study — the BuyerSphere Project. Later Hotchkiss, Patricia Neuray of Business.com, Frederick Vallaeys of Google and Valerie Bolduc of Microsoft answered top-of-mind B2B Search Marketing questions during the Expert Hot Seat panel discussion moderated by Bill Barnes of Enquiro. Jay Middleton, Adobe’s Senior Worldwide Search Marketing Manager, led the afternoon keynote on “The Future of B2B Search Marketing”.  

B2B Search Strategy Summit (San Francisco June 23, 2010) - Search Marketing & Social Media Elite Joined Together for a Full Day of Strategy Sharing Sessions.

The day was full of instructive panel discussions, expert Q&A and case study lessons delving into search marketing and social media topics from keyword research, landing page optimization, paid search, search engine optimization, press release optimization and much more. 

Essential B2B Search and Social Marketing Conference Takeaways: 

• Utilize Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media, Landing Pages and Press Release Optimization to boost Search Marketing ROI
• Get to know your audience and stay close to your customers
• Make sure sales and marketing teams are tightly integrated to ensure the sale
• Understand buyer behaviors and customer search habits to help optimize search campaigns
• Integrate Marketing and Social Media channels to further support lead generation and foster branding
• Diversify Paid Search campaigns to boost search engine marketing results
• Incorporate targeted keywords into all Marketing/Sales/Social Media communications
• Pay attention to analytics and focus on cost-per-customer rather than cost-per-lead