Business and Social Media

Usage

• 57% of small businesses use social media.

• 83% of marketers stress its importance to their business.

• 18% of SMEs said Facebook has allowed them to grow their business the most.

• 11% use social media to improve customer service, 15% to boost sales & 27% to increase brand awareness.

Top sites

• 79% of self-employed and small business owners use Linkedin

• 73% of larger businesses use YouTube

• B2C are more focused on facebook

• B2B more likely to use Twitter or

Linkedin

• 19% use facebook for business purposes.

• 14% use linkedin

• 4% use twitter

• 15% use other social media platforms

How often?

• 12% of businesses say they use social media all the time.

• 25% when they have time.

• 33% for marketers invest 11 or more hours a week in social networks.

• B2B adopted its use earlier than B2C companies

• 43%of 20-29 year olds use social media more than 11 hours per week.

How effective

• 85% indicated that social media activity had generated more exposure for their business.

• 69% said it had increased their traffic.

• 58% said it improved sales

• 61% saw increased lead generation

• 61% of B2B businesses saw increased partnerships

Savings

• Nearly half said social media helped reduce marketing expenses

• 57% of self employed saw reduced costs

Market insight

• 65% found social media helpful in understanding the marketplace

• 68% of B2B businesses used it for intelligence gathering

• 65% found it useful in building a loyal fan base.

Future

• 76% of SMEs are likely to increase their use of You tube/video.

• Facebook is the focus for B2C (76%) and those just venturing into social media (79%)

• Smaller businesses and enterprise ventures are increasing their activities on twitter (75%)

• Most businesses (67%) plan on increasing their use of Google+

• 70% of companies recognised Google’s staying power and intend to learn more about its possibilities.