You don’t have to look very hard to know that corporations consider social media marketing to be an important Component of their marketing mix. In a recent survey [http://www.cmosurvey.org/results/]of CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers), Duke University Fuqua School of Business learned that while optimistic about their futures and fully prepared to ramp up hiring, CMOs are concerned that their Social Media strategies are not fully integrated into their marketing plans.
For local and small companies, this should be an early warning. Get ready now with social media and get ahead of the curve. You may not be able to hire a Social Media Manager on staff, but at least seek some training on Social Media Marketing.
More than ever, it is obvious that Social Networking and Social Media are NOT going away. To continue to ignore this tremendous marketing channel is ill-advised.