Social gifting, which is becoming wildly popular on Facebook, has largely been conducted through gift cards and major retailers. Boomerang wants to make social gifting a local experience. The Chicago-based program is expanding to New York, Indianapolis, and Austin, Texas, offering small businesses and local retailers a chance to get in on the social gifting fun.
Lisa Raphael (left), the social media producer at Katie Couric's daytime talk show Katie, is one of our featured speakers in Mediabistro's upcoming Social Media Marketing Boot Camp, an online event and workshop starting June 6, 2013. Lisa will share a case study on how the hit show uses Twitter to build interest and buzz around upcoming segments. Learn more about our our twelve event speakers and register here. 
Thanks to a partnership between Facebook and American Express, five small businesses earned $25,000 and social media help as part of the Big Break For Small Businesses contest. Casale Jewelers of Staten Island, N.Y.; Hendrick Boards of Orange County, Calif.; Dick Pond Athletics of Chicago; The Produce Box of Raleigh, N.C.; and Dutch Monkey Doughnuts of Cumming, Ga., were the lucky winners.
In an effort to better serve its growing small business clientele, Facebook has revamped its Facebook for Business website. The social network announced the changes, which will provide more in-depth tips and tutorials for smaller and midsized businesses that advertise through Facebook.
Pretty much every small business could use a little extra cash and some guidance with social marketing. Luckily, Facebook and American Express want to help. By entering the “Big Break for Small Business” contest, smaller companies can win $25,000 and house calls from American Express and Facebook branding experts to help them launch a sound social marketing campaign.
A survey of more than 100,000 smaller retailers found that nearly 40 percent use Facebook ads, and among them 70 percent said they would do so again.
Many small businesses are now starting out with a Facebook page first instead of a website.
The newest entry into the small business Facebook marketing sector comes from Constant Contact, which announced the launch of its Social Campaigns platform.
A survey of 1,972 small businesses found that a staggering 96 percent of them are using Facebook as a marketing tool, and 86 percent found the social network to be effective.
It’s not just about how many likes a brand gets anymore. New Facebook changes dictate richer, smarter content to reach customers.
Small businesses find Facebook to be a more effective means of marketing than paid search.
