Are Canadian businesses using online marketing enough?

Earlier this month, Montreal-born chief financial officer of Google, paid a visit to the Montreal Google offices.
He made some interesting observations of the use of the Internet by Canadian businesses:

..it’s Canadian businesses that seem to be snowed by the Internet. He said marketers here have been far slower to move into online advertising than in other countries, adding that this is a mistake. “If you’re a small or medium-size business, just put in $50 or $70 per month to learn what’s going on,” Pichette said. “I came to Canada surprised by what I found. I don’t know what the cause is, but I think it’s important to tell people they’re not participating in some of the fastest-growing industries in the world. It’s time for a call to action.”

He’s not referring specifically to social media, but I can definitely see this as an area that businesses have hesitated to participate in. I have first-hand listened to and participated in many discussions with business owners who think sites like Twitter and Facebook are a waste of time. Sure, you can waste a lot of time if you don’t use them effectively or do not have a strategy or goal. Sometimes I wonder if these are the same people who swore they would never get a cellphone or use the ‘Internet’ 😉 I think it’s a case of dismissing something because you don’t understand it and rather than take the time to learn it, it’s easier to declare it useless. There are many entrepreneurs, small, medium-sized and large businesses who have leveraged Twitter to network with other like-minded people as well as market their business-but I’ll get into that in another post!

Getting started doesn’t have to be so hard. Sure it can be daunting with all the sites that seem to be cropping up everyday but the key is to have a strategy and really think about what you want to achieve. That way you can better evaluate which sites are right for you.

So how are you using social media marketing for your business? If you aren’t, why not? I’d love to hear! And help!

Sandy

References:
http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Google+exec+bullish+high+tech+here/2609380/story.html#ixzz0ijUp52eg