Flyn Penoyer asked on LinkedIn Answers: Web Marketing: What do you think Obama’s success using the web says about the power it has for small businesses.

My answer: Small businesses rarely have an overall marketing strategy, nor do they consistently work a marketing plan. Obama had many talented folks working different marketing avenues. A small business would not have the time, manpower, talent, or money to pull off a large scale social media campaign.

That said though: many small businesses can spend an hour per day on social media – twitter, Facebook, youtube, blog, ning, LinkedIn, friendfeed – towards an overall marketing goal. If the goal was specific enough and there was a set design.

For example, you want to get 200 prospective customers following you on Twitter. Your plan might look like this:

1. Inviting those that have given you their email to join you on twitter.
2. You will ask for more emails from people in the future (separate plan)
3. You will give value on your twitter feed 3 times a day.
4. Define what value you will give.
5. Execute 30 minutes per day.

Remember though: the Web is only a tool; the power is in your message. Without a clear concise message to your target audience, you might as well spend the time and effort other ways. (Messaging is the key component in marketing and in sales. In sales, it is called the USP or unique sales proposition).

Harvard Business revenue has 3 articles about Better marketing. One on Obama. Another on marketing during a Recession. And the third is interesting because it asks How would Walt Disney market in 2009.  IN all cases, story and delivery are the Key.

This article is about cross-pollinating your email subscribers with your Twitter followers. It’s a good guide on using Twitter to drive website traffic (for a free report or an interview or a video) and collect email addresses for email marketing with a newsletter or special reports. Read it here.