Birmingham’s SmartFinds hopes to create 10-20 jobs this summer

Don’t use the term “social media” too much around Melih Oztalay. The CEO of SmartFinds Internet Marketing thinks the way of expressing marketing through Internet social circles is better put as social medium marketing. Whatever the word combination used for social medium marketing, Oztalay looks to become a job creator for his downtown Birmingham-based company. SmartFinds is on the way to creating a social media center where its big clients can outsource this function. He expects the center will create another 10-20 jobs at his company when it opens this summer.”Things are moving along on our end,” Oztalay says. SmartFinds helps businesses navigate through the world of electronic information, helping them understand how people use the Internet and how to adjust their advertising and marketing campaigns accordingly. The company helps these businesses move beyond search engines and discover more ways to drive people to their websites. The circa-1994 company has watched a lot of large European and Asian corporate customers come in and utilize SmartFinds’ skills. Oztalay says these companies are trying to grab market share while U.S. companies are lying on their backs from the recession and hoarding cash.”These companies are willing to invest in themselves when the U.S. companies are pulling back,” Oztalay says.SmartFinds employs 15 people, plus its partners and a handful of independent contractors. Its list of clients includes companies like Delphi, Flagstar Bank and Big Boy restaurants. Source: Melih Oztalay, CEO of SmartFinds Internet MarketingWriter: Jon Zemke