What is SME ?

Business communications, Business Culture

When I first heard the acronym “SME” I didn’t have a clue what it stood for. However while researching what is SME , not only did I find out the answer to define SME but also some information about the importance and relationships of SMEs with banks and the global economy.

An SME stands for “Small to Medium Enterprise”, and there are various parameters to measure an SME for example to European Commission brakes down SMEs even further into small-medium, small and micro. For example to be classed as a Micro SME you would need less than 10 employees, a turnover of less than £2million or a balance sheet total of less than £2million.

The world bank has carried out research into SMEs to see if they can gage the importance of them to a nation’s economy. Their research found that in countries such as Belarus or Azerbaijan SMEs accounted for 5% of the GDP whereas countries such as Greece, Chile and Thailand this figure was over the 80% mark.

To find out more about SMEs and their relationship with the economy go to : http://www.radar-global.com/blog/what-are-smes-and-msmes

How social media became word of mouse marketing

Business communications, Social media, ,

Word of mouth marketing is now becoming a “word of mouse” marking forum. People still communicate and recommend products, services and portray their experiences however it is becoming increasingly more likely that you will read about the good time “Andrew” had at his local pub or the terrible time “Ally” had with the kitchen she bought from her local kitchen fitters.

 

Social media is the platform that people broadcast this information and it can be a useful tool not only for next to nothing advertising and reaching a broad audience but also a way in which a business can measure the response to adverts and other forms of information.

 

Word of mouth is now  word of mouse less and less speaking, more and more typing. See how you can effectively utilise the power of social media and get people talking about your product in a positive way:

http://www.business2community.com/social-media/how-social-media-became-the-word-of-mouse-marketing-0232899

The top social media trends to watch out for in 2012

Business communications, Social media

As we start a new year in 2013, it is interesting to reflect back on the biggest social media trends that occurred in 2012. This year observed an even bigger social media craze than the last; having an affect not only on every day decisions but important business decisions too.

First of all is the increasing usage of social media within customer service. In 2012, more and more businesses have utilised this tool as a way to communicate with their customers and those who haven’t kept abreast of this trend, may have profits which reflect this.

There has also been a boom in the use of social media on mobile and tablet devices. With a range of devices available that offer users many of the same abilities as their desktop computer, social media applications are plentiful, and including increased use of check in platforms and GPS, such as Facebook Places.

To read more about the social media trends in 2012 take a look at the below link:

http://www.businessrevieweurope.eu/marketing/social-media/the-top-social-media-trends-to-watch-out-for-in-2012

Social Communities – How the world uses Social Media

Blog, Social media, ,

Social media is a global phenomenon, creating many social communities but which countries are the biggest users?

It is no surprise that the UK is the country with the most internet users; it has in fact got a higher percentage of internet users in terms of population than the U.S, though closely followed by Japan, Germany and lastly, France.

Statistics on global internet usage may be helpful for a range of reasons, but what may really be of interest to company’s wishing to promote and trade on a global level, is the use of social media in different countries.

It seems Twitter still has a long way to go; with approximately 13% compared to 70% of usage numbers on Facebook, Twitter in the UK and the US is far behind – something which promoters in these countries may want to bear in mind! However, tweeters seem to be plentiful in Brazil and Japan with around 30% usage.

To take a look at these statistics in more detail, please visit the below link:
http://wallblog.co.uk/2011/09/26/how-the-world-uses-social-media-infographic/#ixzz2HDyQG458

Brand awareness- ROI of Social Media

Blog, Business Culture, Social media, ,

Calculate the ROI of Social Media

The greatest social media platforms can generate a return even higher than a TV Commercial. Fan pages, Facebook and Twitter accounts present the opportunities for staff to speak to visitors, strangers to introduce themselves and friends to communicate.

Campaigners raise brand awareness and whilst some followers will listen, messages aren’t usually passed on. However, studies show that bloggers and readers who engage often meet face to face and some users may also share branded content with friends.

Once the shop has closed, a retailer measures their ROI through the number of sales they have made. This can also be done by the social marketer. There are five elements involved in determining the commercial success of social media:

** Number – Count the number of ‘’Likes’’, the number of downloads and the number of views.

** Time – Tweets, retweets and comments take time and lead to other friends taking time to digest them too.

** Trust – The strength of digital communications amongst consumers to judge their closeness. A good way to quantify this on Facebook is the comment-to-like ratios of fan posts: the greater the ratio the more intimate friends shared the brand experience.

** Sentiment – Filter through comments and look out for specific words.

** Income – Know the demographics of followers.

To read about measuring the ROI of social media in more detail, visit http://www.briansolis.com/2012/10/calculate-the-roi-of-social-media/