All that effort you’re plowing into your online marketing strategy? Time to think about it extra carefully, especially if your prospects are small-to-medium-size businesses (SMBs).

Research published by Bredin Business Information suggests that, while you and your e-marketing squad are employing newer and fancier bits to start conversations, your SMB targets may in fact prefer to receive decidedly lower-tech (and higher-priced) touches from you in the form of newspaper and magazine articles and direct mail, including letters, postcards and catalogs.

Though many marketers are cutting back on offline tactics and making efforts to join the “buzz bandwagon” with social networking, the survey results indicate that “business owners are not nearly as enthusiastic about social networking as the marketers are,” said BBI CEO Stu Richards.

Don’t shoot me; I’m only the piano player.

What’s this have to do with hiring a writer? Not much, except that in marketing – as in writing – you ignore the preferences and interests of your target audience at your peril.

Don’t dismantle your e-marketing initiative. (Aren’t you glad I told you that?) Test it against your direct mail campaign. May the best conversation-starter win.