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I just read on a blog post about how social media may save businesses. What do you think about that? I do think social media may help certain businesses more than others. For example, social media may help a beauty product than a pesticide product.

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This thread (September–October 2009) highlights two useful points from and : social media can stretch limited marketing budgets, and its effectiveness depends heavily on the product and audience. Social channels are powerful amplifiers—best used when product-market fit, margins, and basic conversion paths already exist. For visually driven consumer goods and services social often shortens discovery and lowers initial acquisition cost; for regulated, commodity, or long-sales-cycle products, social is usually supplementary to targeted sales and industry channels.

A pragmatic way to decide whether social can materially help a business is to treat it as an experiment with clear financial goals, not a magic bullet. Key steps: map a simple funnel (impression → micro-conversion such as email capture → sale), choose platforms where the target audience already spends time, and set three KPIs up front (cost per acquisition, conversion rate on the landing flow, and 90‑day retention or first-pass LTV). Tactics that reliably move the needles: prioritized email capture plus automated welcome flow, small paid tests with tight creative A/B, retargeting to warm audiences, and using social for responsive customer service and product feedback that improves conversion.

Weeks 1–12 practical plan (example):

  • Weeks 1–2: record baseline sales metrics, install tracking (UTMs, pixel), enable CRM email capture and a one-step welcome series.
  • Weeks 3–6: run two small paid creative tests on 1–2 platforms; optimize landing page and CTA based on early data.
  • Weeks 7–12: scale the best-performing creative, introduce retargeting, measure CAC vs. LTV, and convert early customers into repeat buyers.

A caution: platform algorithms and audience behavior change; reliance on one platform is risky. Social is most effective when combined with strong offers, measurable funnels, and a focus on cash flow and retention rather than vanity metrics.

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Member Avatar for MktgRob

I would say that social media has allowed businesses to stretch advertising/marketing budgets and increased the ability to prospect in a more cost-effective manner. There might be a small population of companies who have been able to sustain their business using social media but they are probably few and far between.

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I also noticed that companies who never really advertised before and not only using a CRM program now on their website to capture emails but also are using social media to engage with consumers and increase sales. Just a look on facebook, you will find many sales oriented pages for some fancy danshy shops. Even a few years ago, these shops would have never ever created such a presence. Hence, this recession have stirred many business owners to shift their attitude to embrace any tactic that can help save their business at the end of the day.

Member Avatar for MktgRob

I also noticed that companies who never really advertised before and not only using a CRM program now on their website to capture emails but also are using social media to engage with consumers and increase sales. Just a look on facebook, you will find many sales oriented pages for some fancy danshy shops. Even a few years ago, these shops would have never ever created such a presence. Hence, this recession have stirred many business owners to shift their attitude to embrace any tactic that can help save their business at the end of the day.

You are right in that there is definitely an increase in the number of companies going to the web and social media sites for advertising that they normally did not do in a more traditional way. If you think about it, a small to medium sized company with a tech-savvy marketing department can accomplish more with less rather than going to outside agencies. There is a group in NYC, the name of which escapes me right now, that promotes startups that do most if not all of their promotion and advertising on the web.

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