How Small Businesses are Using Social Media – Stats

We set out onto the Web to gather some stats to see the state of small business and social media and we were very encouraged by what we found.  Use of Social Media by small businesses is an increasingly upward trend as we hit the halfway point in 2011.

Are you making full use of the networks available to you and your business?

Check out these stats and how your competition may have a leg (or tweet up) on you:

• Research shows that social media adoption by small business doubled from 2009 to 2010. 61 percent of small business owners now use social media to help identify and attract new customers, 75 percent have a company page on a social networking site, and 45 percent expect their social media activities to be profitable within the next 12 months. – Social Media Today

• Facebook has grown by 55 percent and is the top social media site where advertisers are spending their marketing budgets. Twitter & LinkedIn, with a fifth of the popularity, are growing at close to 26 percent with LinkedIn emerging as the 3rd popular social network for job seekers. – ComScore

• 35 percent of United States small businesses reported using online social networking for marketing, up from 15 percent in fall 2009. In addition, 12 percent of SMBs were using blogs as a social tactic, nearly double the figure from fall 2009. – Small Business Monitor/American Express OPEN

• Almost one-half of small businesses have successfully connected with new customers through social networks (compared to larger companies at 28 percent and medium-sized businesses at 36 percent). – Regus Survey “Social Success?”

• 90% of consumers say they trust recommendations from people they know, and 70% trust consumer opinions posted online. – The Neilson Company

• Small business owners found the time it takes to use social media sites more daunting than expected, 61 percent are still putting in the hours and making active efforts to identify new customers. – Small Business Success Index™/Network Solutions® and the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business

How is social media working for your business?

Do you have plans to increase your social media usage as part of your marketing plan?