It is not just big businesses that are communicating with customers using social media.

According to a recent study, more than 260,000 small businesses in the US employ social networking tactics, too.

Most of them used professional social networking sites such as LinkedIn. General social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook were also widely used, followed by niche communities and job sites.

Less popular were microblogging services (such as Twitter and Yammer), forums, wikis and social bookmarking applications.

While few used the sites to influence purchases, this may be a strategic error. Direct sales are one way to leverage social media marketing.

The reasons for adopting social networking tactics varied, but the most widespread uses of social media were for responding to customer questions, networking, and reference and educational purposes.

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