Social Media in Times of Economic Reflection: If you don't use it, you could lose it (potential sales)

Below excerpt from an Oct 13 WSJ online article with tips on how to market in ever-more challenging times.

Personally speaking, the first sentence i.e. "hottest trend on the web is social media" is an observation that's been made thousands of times over the past several years...but the fact of the matter is that social networking has always been the most impactful form of advertising/marketing. Six degrees of separation goes a long way...
Perfect example: A marketing staffer at Hachette Publication was assigned the task to surf social networking sites, starting with LinkedIn, as part of a campaign to promote a new novel from David Baldacci. She necessarily searched profiles of members that included "favorite authors", and it so happens that my LinkedIn profile included several of my favs, including David Baldacci.

Since my phone and email address are displayed on my profile, this lovely gal phoned me up, introduced herself, and solicited my mailing address so that she could send a FREE copy of Baldacci's latest book. A week later, a lovely package arrived from Hachette, well before the book becomes available in book stores.
Its a good one too!(a continuation of the Camel Club/Oliver Stone series). Hachette is out the cost of a hardcover book, plus postage.

In return, they've earned my continued loyalty to the author, my new-found appreciation for Hachette, and unbeknown to the marketing department, this posting in the blogosphere--which will presumably be read by the many hundreds of fans that tune in to my latest musings, and since many of them are like-minded, at least several will be inspired to buy Baldacci's book at Barnes and Noble.. Long live Social Media

TAP INTO SOCIAL MEDIA

The hottest trend on the Web is social media -- services that allow people to connect with friends, family and colleagues, as well as interact with people around common interests. Social sites could prove crucial to marketers around holiday time, since shoppers often turn to people they know for help with making gift decisions.

"People trust people like themselves more than they trust experts," says Greg Verdino, chief strategy officer at Crayon LLC, a social-media marketing consultancy based in Westport, Conn. "It would be advantageous to have these folks telling your story."

Among the most important social sites for small companies are those where consumers post reviews of local businesses, such as Citysearch and Yelp. Matt McGee, director of strategic search at KeyRelevance, a search-marketing agency based in Dallas, recommends that businesses find ways to address poor reviews as well as encourage their loyal customers to write positive reviews. Companies might do this when they send emails to customers to confirm completed orders or in follow-up notes a few weeks later.

A strong presence on review sites "encourages other shoppers to become customers, it's good word-of-mouth marketing and can have long-term impact in the search engines, which often award better rankings to well-reviewed businesses," Mr. McGee says.