Use social marketing to do right by your customers (Small Business E-commerce Link Digest – March 9, 2012)

Lots of good stuff this week about how to use social to do right by your customers. So let’s skip the clever setup and get right to the links:

• We’ve been talking about “the transparent web” a fair bit over the last couple of weeks. To underscore the point, Social Media Examiner highlights 5 reasons your content marketing must address price. Admittedly, the reasons mostly sum up as “make life easier for your customers.” But the details are well worth reading, too.
• Speaking of customers, Mashable has a good look at social media demographics to help you get a better view of who your customers are on social networks.
• And, while we’re on the topic, it’s worth noting that 65% see “personalized” search as bad. Customers are more worried about their privacy than about the benefits personalized search promises.
• Of course, one of the reasons for personalized search is to help whittle down the volume of search results to help customers make easier decisions about the “right” answer for their questions. eMarketer applies this to online retail and shows how less is more for online retailers and their customers.
• And, finally, you can help your customers make better decisions by telling them a clear, simple story about you and your business. CopyBlogger looks at 3 simple storytelling methods that make that process much, much easier.

Happy Friday, Big Thinkers! We’ll see you back here next week.

Are you getting enough value out of your small business website? Want to make sure your business makes the most of the local, mobile, social web? thinks helps you understand how to grow your business via the web, every day. Get more than just news. Get understanding. Add thinks to your feed reader today.

Or subscribe via email.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow Tim on Twitter.

Tim Peter & Associates helps companies from startups to the Fortune 500 use the web to reach more customers, more effectively every day. Take a look and see how we can help you.

Technorati Tags: search, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, sem, seo, social, social commerce, social marketing, social media, social media predictions, social search, social strategy