It may be slowly and surely being caught by social media, but email is still a hugely important part of the marketing arsenal for brands of all shapes and sizes, and that isn’t going to change anytime soon.

Moreover, by combining email marketing with social sharing, brands can merge these two powerful tools to fully leverage their audience, maximizing the effectiveness of their campaigns and generating superior results.

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A new report has revealed the extent to which small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are embracing social media in their marketing campaigns – seemingly at the expense of longstanding digital advertising tools such as email marketing and paid search.

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Social media can play an incredibly important role in helping startups in all fields raise brand awareness. By effectively using tools such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs, brands can separate themselves from the pack, making their products and services increasingly attractive to customers and (vitally) investors.

But how do you get people to start talking about your brand? And how do you convert that buzz to revenue?

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Social media marketing is increasingly becoming a key component of the digital strategies for brands of all sizes, and businesses that are successfully using the internet to leverage their promotional campaigns have realized that a strong and engaged online presence can provide a nice boost to their offline (bricks and mortar) retail arm as well.

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In just a few short years social media has completely changed the marketing strategies of brands of all shapes and sizes, and it’s becoming increasingly essential that corporations understand these platforms and the expectations of their customers to raise awareness, boost sales and expand their business.

So how have brands adjusted to this new age? Is it different on Twitter than it is on Facebook? And what do their customers, old and new, expect from these interactions?

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Christmas time is here. Well, almost – it’s 11 days away. You’ve done all of your shopping… right?

No? Well, fret not, as all you have to do to get some fantastic gift ideas is head on over to Twitter and Facebook, and check out what your friends are recommending that you buy.

Marketing agency Mr Youth polled 4,500 adults and discovered that social media is playing a major role in their holiday gift purchases in 2011.

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The benefits of using platforms such as Twitter and Facebook in marketing campaigns for businesses of all sizes are well established, but putting that into practice takes knowledge and experience, as well as effort, dedication, and, most importantly, time.

Success in social media isn’t something that happens overnight. As the old adage says, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and organizations looking for shortcuts and (especially) advice from self-pronounced gurus are often left scratching their heads in bewilderment.

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Last week we reported on research that suggested that just 10% of small businesses use Twitter as part of their marketing strategy.

It goes without saying that this is a surprisingly low number, and even more so when you consider that some 60% of small businesses who do use Twitter find it effective for engaging with their customers.

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The business of social media is booming, and platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have allowed brands (and entrepreneurs) of all shapes and sizes to reach a wider audience to whom they can effectively market their products and services, irrespective of where they are in the world.

For consumers, these channels allow easy access to brands, but also help to research and guide product decisions and purchases, with the companies that provide the best customer support and highest engagement levels benefitting from consumer loyalty and ‘word of mouth’ recommendations, boosting awareness and sales.

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Social commerce is a big deal that’s going to get bigger and bigger, becoming something truly monstrous, so it’s easy to forget that this is all still very new, and all still very shiny.

It does depend on how and when you define ‘social’, but inasmuch as we’ve come to use that word to reference platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, the history of social commerce traces back less than a half-decade. But does that mean it’s overhyped?

Far from it.

Digital marketing is predicted to hit $300 billion by 2020, and, amazingly, half of that growth is expected to come from social commerce. Pick your jaw up from the floor and read on.

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