Smaller Businesses See ROI from Social Media
Social Media
February 13, 2014 -- A new study finds 60% of small and medium businesses (SMBs) have found social media to be effective in helping build "brand awareness vis-à-vis growing/ maintaining company presence, marketing their company and gaining new customers."
The study surveyed nearly 1,000 small and medium businesses in the U.S. and Canada and was conducted independently by market research firm TNS, on behalf of LinkedIn.
Findings:
- 8 in 10 SMBs (81%) currently use social media to grow their businesses; 9% plan to use it in the future
- The majority (94%) of SMB social media users believe the tactic is helping them to meet their marketing objectives
- Nearly 2 in 3 SMBs say their top challenge is attracting new customers; with that said, 61% say social media has proven useful in gaining new clientele
- More than 2 in 5 SMB respondents find social media useful in retaining existing customers
- Nearly half of SMBs (49%) say that in addition to using social media to grow their enterprises, they use social networking to gain business insights from peers and experts too
- More than half (56%) of SMBs say they increased spend on social media in the past year, higher than that for any other marketing channel (including email marketing and events).
The report states, "according to Dun and Bradstreet, small and medium businesses with revenue between $1 million and less than $50 million account for 1.3 million business units in North America and are generating approximately $5.5 trillion in revenue. They’re optimistic about the economy in 2014, and they’re spending more as marketing budgets are up 10.7% year over year."
About: This study was conducted in November 2013 by LinkedIn in partnership with TNS. A 20-minute online survey was conducted among 998 North American small and medium businesses with revenue between $1 million and less than $50 million. In order to participate in the study, individuals had to be: owners/decision makers/ influencers of financial services and selecting financial service providers for their company; and had to have financial decision making influence at the company/division/business unit level. Participants were also chosen to represent a good mix of SMBs across all industries. In addition, results were weighted to represent the greater North American SMB population [small business (revenue between $1M-9.9M): 54%; medium businesses (revenue between 10M-$49.9M): 46%].
Source: LinkedIn, Priming the Economic Engine How Social Media is Driving Growth for Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs), accessed Feb.13, 2014.
