Social Media Marketing Priority for SMBs in 2011

An overwhelming majority of small business owners plan to spend money on their business in 2011, according to a new survey by small business community Manta. Seventy-seven percent (77%) plan to spend in 2011 even though 85% reported they implemented across-the-board cuts in 2010. Nearly half (47%) have prioritized marketing and sales as their top spend, with 24% noting business development as top priority and 23% opting for marketing and advertising . Another 23% of the respondents said they couldn't prioritize expenditures for 2011, given the current state of their business.

Mobile Retailing on Strong Growth Trajectory

Consumers are using mobile phones for retail-related activities at an increasing level, according to a new study from ForeSee Results. Compared to last year, about three times as many people are using their phones for product research purposes (30% in 2010, 11% in 2009). Use of retailer-developed mobile applications has increased seven-fold (from 1% to 7%), and purchasing from phones has quintupled (from 2% to 11%).