Its amazing how many small to medium sized businesses especially, miss the opportunities available to them through using social media today.

An article I recently read stated that: "a mere 24% of respondents said they’ve received sales leads from social media, with just 1% citing it as a factor for business growth". It has only emerged recently as a source of customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction but the need for businesses to utilise social media capabilities is fast moving.

The social channels are so popular today that older marketing techniques are simply getting replaced. I believe University degrees in business related courses will soon adopt social media modules as the need to understand and incorporate social media in business is ever-growing. The fact is that without social media, businesses today are operating at a huge disadvantage to those who are and those who are, are striving.

You can read the article 'Why Small Businesses Shouldn't Take Social Media For Granted' here: http://mashable.com/2010/06/13/small-business-advice/