Today’s small business environment is dominated not by spreadsheets, but by “likes” and “shares.” Prior to the advent of social media, a business upstart had to either rely on word-of -mouth, print marketing materials, and a simple website. But with the proliferation of social media and the spread of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, one of the first tasks is to ensure that you have a viable Facebook and Twitter presence.

That’s right–Twitter and Facebook are more than just convenient ways of annoying people with photos of your dinner and pretending to be a  political science expert; they’re the ultimate way to attract new customers and interact with them in real time.

Here’s how social media has impacted small businesses, according to Facebook Marketing:

•  In an average week, there are more than 645 million views of, and 13 million comments on, local business Facebook Pages.

• Approximately 70%  of monthly active users in the U.S. and Canada are connected to a local business on Facebook.

Perhaps that explains the rise of social media marketing businesses and the roles they play in helping businesses reach a whole new market, and how to engage them on a routine basis. We at Cote Media are among those businesses and we offer a whole slew of services relevant to today’s social media environment. Original content production on  daily basis, micro-targeted Facebook ads, real-time customer engagement, and real-time social network customer service are but a few of many services we offer.

Small businesses have enough to worry about, which is why they’re increasingly outsourcing their social media and google analytics needs to reliable social media marketing businesses such as Cote Media.