Small businesses using social media
Small businesses have used many methods in order to market and advertise their services. When compared to larger businesses and corporations, sometimes small businesses have a hard time keeping up. This can be as a result of limited resources, employees, and budgets. However, social media marketing has allowed small businesses to keep pace with larger businesses with bigger budgets, as it allows businesses to connect directly with customers and potential customers.
This year, Constant Contact conducted a survey that measured the attitudes and outlooks of 2,000 small businesses, as it relates to social media marketing.
Survey highlights:
- Constant Contact found that there was a “significant shift” in small businesses using social media marketing. This shift means that there was an 8% increase from the year before, making 81% of small businesses surveyed currently using some form of social media marketing.
- Of the 81% of surveyed businesses that use social media marketing, 60% of these businesses interacted with customers and potential customers by responding to comments that were originally posted on their Facebook pages.
- Another shift from the previous year’s findings includes how much time businesses feel social media marketing requires of them, as 45% reported that it doesn’t take much time at all.
- Facebook and Twitter are the most popular social media sites used. And while Facebook is in the number one position, Twitter is making progress. 60% of small businesses that used Twitter believe that it’s useful and effective, which was up from 47% last year.
- While social media marketing is now being used more widely by small businesses, this year’s survey found that small businesses still rely on in-person interactions to reach out to their customers or potential customers. It’s the combination of the two methods—social media marketing and in-person interaction—that seems to work well for many businesses.
Social media marketing has provided small businesses the ability to compete with large companies and has enabled them to interact on a personal level with customers and potentials. With such impressive increases from previous results, next year is looking better and better for small businesses across the country.
