Social media seems to be gaining with small businesses in the States. A recent online survey of more than 2,000 American small business by Internet2Go, an Opus Research advisory service, and MerchantCircle, suggests that a growing percentage of small businesses are using social media to promote their services.
The survey, conducted in September, found that approximately 45 percent of respondents have a presence or profiles on Facebook and Twitter specifically to promote their businesses.
I suspect this interest is partly a reaction to the coverage social media has got in the press and online, but also because many are looking to explore ways of cheaper marketing:
- 79 percent of respondents stated that they have an annual marketing budget of less than 5,000 USD per year.
- 44 percent admitted they spend “less than $1,000” annually on advertising and marketing.
In spite of small businesses willingly participating on social media site, many are concerned that they don’t have the resources to make the most of the platform.
- 15.9 percent said: “there’s not enough time to do it well and still run a business”.
The Big Issue
The main problem facing small businesses as they embrace social media is that many haven’t previously built a strong online presence. A lot of companies have just created websites that are tantamount to an online brochure rather than actively engaging with their customers.
Just being active on Twitter or Facebook might send more traffic your way but you still need a meaningful web(site) presence – say, a blog with plenty of resources – to establish the amount of trust required to make a sale.
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