Some major global businesses clearly believe so. Take fmcg businesses. A number of these are eschewing more conventional forms of marketing and investing increasing amounts of resources into their social media profile. Many have built up armies of followers for their brands that rank in the millions (just check out the presence of products like Red Bull and Coca-Cola on Facebook). Others are using the channel not just as a means of engaging with customers but as a direct selling tool (Heinz started selling bottles of a limited edition sauce via Facebook earlier this year and it's not the only brand to go down this route).

 

But it's not just fmcgs that are using these channels. The shining example of a print business that has successfully embraced the power of social media is Kodak. The manufacturer, which employs a social media manager, says that the use of social media has had a major effect on the business to the extent that it has been integrated into Kodak's communication mix. It's now actively urging printers to start engaging with their audience – talking and listening to them – via social media channels and has pulled together a useful 'how to' guide for clients looking to take advantage of tools such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

 

Some printers are already making the most of these channels. US print behemoth QuadGraphics has a presence on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter, where it hosts a weekly #PrintChat debate about print-related issues – the company's Twitter feed has just shy of 4,000 followers. At the other end of the spectrum Bristol-based printer The Local Printer uses its Twitter site to inform its 1,250 followers about special offers it's running on a particular day.

 

"88% of companies will be using social media tools for marketing by 2012"

It's a trend that shows little sign of abating. Recent research found that 88% of companies will be using social media tools for marketing by 2012 with many of these using social media exclusively as a marketing tool.

 

And in another survey published this month by serviced office provider Regus the findings underlined the increasingly important role that social networking sites will play in the future marketing mix, with 47% of the 17,000 senior managers and business owners questioned stating that they use social networks to find new customers – up from 40% in 2010. Furthermore 35% of respondents said that they planned to devote more budget to social networking in the future.

 

"easy and it's free"

 

The attractions of going down this route are blindingly obvious – it's easy and it's free. Neither Facebook, Twitter nor LinkedIn charge businesses to set up pages for their brands (although you can pay to put postcode targeted advertising on the former) and it only takes seconds to establish a presence.

 

Not only do social networking sites allow companies to interact with customers they can also make word of mouth marketing work at scale.

 

It's potentially a great marketing tool that companies can take advantage of – particularly start-ups. But businesses shouldn't rely solely on social networking sites for their marketing needs. In the Regus survey 61% of respondents said that companies would not succeed if they used social networking and online campaigns to the exclusion of other marketing methods.

 

So by all means establish a presence if you want to but don't fall into the trap of believing that it's going to be a panacea for your businesses' ills. Social media is much more effective when it's part of a wider marketing mix rather than in isolation.

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