By Abe Kasbo and Kim Reydel

Social media was a huge buzz word in 2009 and the hype will undoubtedly spill over into 2010.  Without a question, social media is now the new mass media (television still dominates…for now), and while businesses are still scrambling to figure out how to maximize their investment, social media delivered the following important points to the market:

1. Aggregation

2. Segmentation

3. Revelancy

As companies continue to embrace social media to grow their businesses, expand their brand footprint, and utilize the medium for PR purposes, some are still struggling to optimize social media to its full potential. According to the Social Media and Online PR Report, 86% of companies plan to more money on social media in 2010. Conversely, 54% of those surveyed say the biggest barrier to better social media engagement is a lack of resources. So, although many are plugged in to various social networking outlets, about half of them see a hurdle in using the tools to their full capacity. In addition 60% of companies say that they have gained “some benefit but nothing concrete” from using social networking. Let’s be honest, when using a tool to grow your business it’s crucial to see the results and reap the benefits. Until you know how to properly engage in social media, it’s not an essential tool for your business.

According to a survey by Econsultancy and bigmouthmedia in the B2B world 11% of respondents were heavily involved in social media while 23% were not involved and 65% experimented only. In the retail business 10% of respondents were heavily involved, 27% not involved, and 63% of retail respondents only experimented with social media. Like any other business strategy you must follow through with a plan, and a short presence on facebook is sure to generate zero business for any company. The concept of social media may have been an experiment, but building your company’s presence on a social network is a business strategy that requires a commitment and understanding of the platform. The majority of companies agree that major benefits of social media include; increased brand awareness, customer engagement, communication with key influencers, and better brand reputation. Additionally 54% of supply side respondents say their clients are incorporating video and video sharing in their use of social media. It’s superb that so many companies have hopped on the social media bandwagon but truth be told, it might as well be obsolete unless you are using it as a tool to engage your audience.

So, although statistics show that companies know how to use social media, there is a lack of understanding when it comes to the value of engagement. In other words, any company has the ability to create a fan page on facebook and populate the group, but often times it stops here. Companies have to keep in mind that those who join your network on twitter or facebook or linkedin are looking for something and it’s your responsibility to give it to them. The social networking platform allows you to offer coupons, contests, news, videos, promotions etc to ENGAGE your audience. It’s important to bring people together via your social network but it’s crucial to keep your site functional and relevant. As another year is about to begin, let’s make a resolution to remember to engage engage engage!

CLIFTON – The nation’s economic recession isn’t only affecting consumers during the holiday season, it has simultaneously compelled business owners and office managers to employ creativity in achieving a cost-effective celebration of their own.

As businesses continue to pare down excess expenditures this year many offices turned their collective attention toward annual staples like December holiday parties, with some companies deciding to shut them down altogether.

Jersey Street Furniture Rental, a party décor company located on Clifton Boulevard boasting high-profile clients such as Donald Trump and Bruce Springsteen, also found themselves forced to adapt to a shifting marketplace.

“With the recession, we knew that this year may not be as busy for holiday parties,” JSFR founder Steve Novich said. “A lot of our year-after-year clients weren’t booking and when we asked them what was different this year, they told us that they just couldn’t afford to pay a large holiday party bill when they were making cutbacks and people were losing their jobs.”

Novich said company employees put their heads together and came up with a concept: companies sharing the cost of one large holiday party, which would “drive down the cost-per-head tremendously.”

Companies with nearby offices, such as Metlife, Vicinity Media Group and Dieci Lifestyle Spa will take part in four “Bring Your Own Business” parties designed to offer a unique environment, harvest new business relationships and, most importantly, save money.

Last Wednesday, one of the four joint parties was held at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in West Orange.

Lori Chiazzo, a senior account executive at The Hip Event public relations firm, estimated there were between 75 and 100 employees from New Jersey companies MetLife, Verasoni Worldwide, Complements Two and the Clara Maass Medical Center.

“Overall the party went really well,” Chiazzo said. “People were having a really good time up until the end and it even went 30 minutes over[time] because no one wanted to leave.”

Abe Kasbo, Verasoni chief executive officer, said his company learned of the event through a Facebook network and called it a “perfect opportunity in this economy” to develop business while cutting costs.

Kasbo said the joint party saved the company hundreds of both “hard” and “soft dollars” allocated to plan its own event.

“I thought the party was great, and our employees enjoyed it,” Kasbo said. “The venue was fantastic, and the scene was lively. Having other businesses there presented a wonderful opportunity for us to network. I would certainly consider doing it again.”

Kasbo said the event actually provided immediate dividends as his company has since set up two meetings “with prospects” thanks to the get-together.

“While last year’s party let us celebrate with our current clients - whose business we really appreciate - this year we celebrated with future clients,” he added.

Kasbo said current clients received gift baskets this year in place of the holiday party held in previous years.

David Black, the chief executive officer of Vicinity Media Group, a Fairfield publishing company which produces lifestyle and business magazines, said the company will spend about 25 percent less on the joint party than the traditional holiday banquet.

Novich said JSFR began with two couches in 2006 and has blossomed into a full-scale event company catering to large corporate and social events.

Now you can listen to us on our new web radio show “Hey Marketing Genius!” You can listen by clicking here http://www.blogtalkradio.com/heymarketinggenius

Today’s show discusses branding. Our guest is Erik Kent, President of NJWedding.com.