This thread is now read only. Thanks for your comments.

I.m.o. twitter and facebook are great to create backlinks to your site, something that G likes a lot. A good thing of creating backlinks like this to your site is that they don't cost you any money, only time,  at the long term you will be ranked higher in the search engines, which gives you free traffic, so the ROI is really good as it doesn't cost money but only time. We've been doing this for more of our sites and it worked pretty good. I do have to admit that it doesn't work with only one or two sites, you really need a lot to get a good result.

NicoleD has given you gold there.   I've had great experience (depending on the business) using postcards, YouTube, SEO and SEM, and TV.   I've heard of many businesses trying all kinds of 'new' or 'trendy' advertising mediums and wasting a lot of money on them for three reasons:   1. They didn't have a message to market match (meaning they were trying to force a message that their market really didn;t care about.)   2. They didn't (or weren't able) to test the ad and optimize it for the fullest benefits.   3. They didn't have a good sales process in the end.   So if you're going to try new things you should make sure that your ducks are in a row. For instance, if you're going to try text messaging, do you have an offer that people actually want? Do you have enough cell phone numbers of existing clients? etc.   I think you'd be well off starting an email marketing campaign with your existing clients. BUT and this is a big BUT, you have to give them info that they want. No one will read your emails if you're just talking about what you're doing this month, how you just got a new product in, etc.   Give them discounts,   Give them a free product (to get them in the door so that you can upsell them on another product)   Let them know that you just got an order in and you already moved 50% (only if this is true) of it so they had better hurry if they want to get one too.   Email marketing is cheap, collecting email is cheap (give them a bonus if they give you their email), and you can test your emails to hone your marketing message and then use that marketing message elsewhere.   I hope that helps.  

My experience with multi level marketing has been tough to track so its difficult to give you an exact report. It seems that internet marketing works but it really depends on your city. Some cities (like mine) are actually slow to respond and seem about 5 years behind. Believe it or not my best response actually comes from our local paper advertising. I would never generally be an advocate but it seems to work best. Personal direct marketing seems to work but a lot of people don't want to be 'sold' right now, they want to make slow decisive decisions. Lastly, if you can think of ways to give as much time and, if necessary, money to your community it will come back to you. This form of community involvement is also very rewarding and if you are a small business then you better be community involved. Aaron Camarillo Chiropractor -- This post was edited to remove a commercial link. Read our discussion policies for more Community best practices.

I think social marketing is used more to build credibility and it takes more sweat equity than anything, so I would not expect much ROI there.   I have not tried outdoor advertising yet.

I am not limited to one or two marketing channels. I use each and every platform that can increase my revenue, customers and give me the chance to boost and expand my business to other areas. For example to keep in touch with my customers, I'd like to use social medias, to get some suggestions and feedback about my business idea or anything else related to my business, prefer to discussion forums and to help other professionals and get assistance from other business professionals, like to use business professionals sites.

I guess it would really depend on your industry. We find that internet ads work best for us as well as our clients. Social media is a great way to keep up with industry news and even get new leads. The key is to organize your time so that you don't waste it browsing aimlessly. Set aside a few minutes a day to read up on new techniques. I would recommend social media guides like Mashable. Good luck!

I'm having excellent success with Business Networking Int'l (BNI).  It's a networking group whose motto is 'Givers Gain.'  You focus on getting referrals for each other.  It has a wonderful family feeling and has brought me a lot of referrals.  Google it to find a local chapter.