In the early days of home video, there were two products, Sony Beta, and VHS. There was no comparison, the Sony product was significantly better, so why did it all but disappear? Because the masses couldn’t really tell the difference, and VHS was cheaper.

I was reminded of that case,  as I read an article by Louis Gray. One of my favorite sources for new technology and applications, he made a compelling case for Facebook as the Social Media Hub for the average person.  While he personally prefers other products, he is finding himself forced to Facebook.  He says:

” I may prefer Google Buzz and FriendFeed and Twitter and SmugMug and all these other best-of-breed sites for their specific use cases, but thus far, I haven’t been able to convert the family to converge with me there.

Facebook is rapidly becoming the Web platform with external services feeding in, and it feeding out. It becomes the conduit, but also the destination.

What does this mean for the small business owner? Regardless of which platforms we prefer, we need to go where are customers are. And more and more, they are on Facebook.  From fan pages, to event listings, and even targeted Facebook ads, this is quickly becoming a site, no marketer can ignor.  But there are risks,  as the folks at Fat Atom discovered when Facebook took down a client’s page.

The rules of social media marketing are being rewritten daily.  For help making good choices, contact roundpeg today!