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SmartPulse — our weekly reader poll in Smartbrief on Social Media — tracks feedback from leading marketers about social media practices and issues. Paul Chaney, Internet marketing director for Bizzuka, author of “The Digital Handshake,” and member of the SmartBrief on Social Media Advisory Board, helps create the questions and analyzes the results. We run the poll question each Wednesday in our e-newsletter and feature Paul’s analysis on this blog.

Last week’s poll question: A recent survey indicated that 75 percent of small businesses are not using social media for marketing. Why do you think that may be the case?

• They don’t know how they might use social media. 35%
• They aren’t sure where to start. 28%
• They don’t feel they have the time. 23%
• They are stuck in routines, and it’s hard to change habits to include new activities. 14%

“‘Uncertainty’ is the word that marks the results of this poll. Much about the use of social media is uncertain to be sure. It’s a young medium that’s yet to prove itself in some respects. That being said, certain forms of social media have attained a track record of success. Blogging, for instance, has proved its worth as a beneficial tool for use in search engine optimization. Social networks like LinkedIn are useful for prospecting and lead generation. Even micro-blogging tools like Twitter have been recognized as having unique business potential (just ask Dell).

“We are between the ‘now and the not yet’ where social media for business is concerned. I’m guessing that, inside of five years, it will become commonplace” -Paul Chaney

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