Survey Says: Small Business Social Media Will Grow in 2011

SAUS ATANOS Small Business Social Media Will Grow 201l ח We surveyed 1,132 small business owners about their use of social media for business. We found that these companies are still getting started, haven't all reached their goals yet and plan to ramp up their efforts this year. The Majority Are Getting Involved Facebook in the Lead of business owners say they use 69% social media at their companies. 89% BUSINESS Over 89% reported using it. 68% named it as the social media tool they use most. In 3 months 41% Respondents reported using Facebook more often than their own blog, indicating that business owners have found the tool to be an easier and more effective means of Of those who don't currently use it, 41% say they plan to start using it in the next 3 months. communication. Business Owners Still Learning The Ropes Modern social media for business is still a relatively new field, having achieved mainstream adoption only five years ago. Many small business owners are still just getting started with it: 59.4% of those using social media feel that it has either not met or only somewhat met their expectations. Despite its less-than-ideal outcome, 77.5% plan on spending more on social media in 2011 than they did in 2010. Furthermore, 62.1% say they definitely see social media as a viable way to communicate with customers. Time Using Social Media Results Better Okay Poor Time Learning Social Media Our findings indicate that small business owners are still learning social media skills. While they may not yet possess the ability to produce big results, they see the potential of social media and are willing to invest more time and money into experimenting with it this year. Budget Too Smal Not Enough Engagement One reason why social media users may not be seeing the results they've hoped for is that they aren't allotting enough of their budget to their efforts. Another reason why some owners haven't had much success is that they aren't updating enough. 36.5% of users say they post new content via social media once a week or less. SMT WT FS 43.2% said they allotted 0-10% of their marketing budget to social media in 2011. 36.5% 0-10% Once a month 21.5% 10% Worse yet, 21.5% say they've allotted "none" of their budget to social media. 10% of those users say they update less than once a month. Regular, active engagement is a big part of success with social media. If these users put more time into their campaign, it might positively affect their results. No Longer Just a Young Person's Game Social media had been considereda hallmark of younger generations, but research shows that nearly as many older business owners are using it. AGE: Percent Using Social Media 21-24 72.7% 25-34 72.9% 35-44 68.9% 45-54 58.4% 55-64 64.6% 64-75 36.8% How Social Media Is Used Social media has nearly limitless business applications, from internal communication to customer service. Today's owners are using their tools for: NEWS Attracting New Customers: 40.8% Communicating Company News: 15.7% BRAN Keeping In Touch With Existing Customers: 11.3% Promoting Company Brand: 27.6% Some or all of these tasks: 1% webs SAUS ATANOS Small Business Social Media Will Grow 201l ח We surveyed 1,132 small business owners about their use of social media for business. We found that these companies are still getting started, haven't all reached their goals yet and plan to ramp up their efforts this year. The Majority Are Getting Involved Facebook in the Lead of business owners say they use 69% social media at their companies. 89% BUSINESS Over 89% reported using it. 68% named it as the social media tool they use most. In 3 months 41% Respondents reported using Facebook more often than their own blog, indicating that business owners have found the tool to be an easier and more effective means of Of those who don't currently use it, 41% say they plan to start using it in the next 3 months. communication. Business Owners Still Learning The Ropes Modern social media for business is still a relatively new field, having achieved mainstream adoption only five years ago. Many small business owners are still just getting started with it: 59.4% of those using social media feel that it has either not met or only somewhat met their expectations. Despite its less-than-ideal outcome, 77.5% plan on spending more on social media in 2011 than they did in 2010. Furthermore, 62.1% say they definitely see social media as a viable way to communicate with customers. Time Using Social Media Results Better Okay Poor Time Learning Social Media Our findings indicate that small business owners are still learning social media skills. While they may not yet possess the ability to produce big results, they see the potential of social media and are willing to invest more time and money into experimenting with it this year. Budget Too Smal Not Enough Engagement One reason why social media users may not be seeing the results they've hoped for is that they aren't allotting enough of their budget to their efforts. Another reason why some owners haven't had much success is that they aren't updating enough. 36.5% of users say they post new content via social media once a week or less. SMT WT FS 43.2% said they allotted 0-10% of their marketing budget to social media in 2011. 36.5% 0-10% Once a month 21.5% 10% Worse yet, 21.5% say they've allotted "none" of their budget to social media. 10% of those users say they update less than once a month. Regular, active engagement is a big part of success with social media. If these users put more time into their campaign, it might positively affect their results. No Longer Just a Young Person's Game Social media had been considereda hallmark of younger generations, but research shows that nearly as many older business owners are using it. AGE: Percent Using Social Media 21-24 72.7% 25-34 72.9% 35-44 68.9% 45-54 58.4% 55-64 64.6% 64-75 36.8% How Social Media Is Used Social media has nearly limitless business applications, from internal communication to customer service. Today's owners are using their tools for: NEWS Attracting New Customers: 40.8% Communicating Company News: 15.7% BRAN Keeping In Touch With Existing Customers: 11.3% Promoting Company Brand: 27.6% Some or all of these tasks: 1% webs SAUS ATANOS Small Business Social Media Will Grow 201l ח We surveyed 1,132 small business owners about their use of social media for business. We found that these companies are still getting started, haven't all reached their goals yet and plan to ramp up their efforts this year. The Majority Are Getting Involved Facebook in the Lead of business owners say they use 69% social media at their companies. 89% BUSINESS Over 89% reported using it. 68% named it as the social media tool they use most. In 3 months 41% Respondents reported using Facebook more often than their own blog, indicating that business owners have found the tool to be an easier and more effective means of Of those who don't currently use it, 41% say they plan to start using it in the next 3 months. communication. Business Owners Still Learning The Ropes Modern social media for business is still a relatively new field, having achieved mainstream adoption only five years ago. Many small business owners are still just getting started with it: 59.4% of those using social media feel that it has either not met or only somewhat met their expectations. Despite its less-than-ideal outcome, 77.5% plan on spending more on social media in 2011 than they did in 2010. Furthermore, 62.1% say they definitely see social media as a viable way to communicate with customers. Time Using Social Media Results Better Okay Poor Time Learning Social Media Our findings indicate that small business owners are still learning social media skills. While they may not yet possess the ability to produce big results, they see the potential of social media and are willing to invest more time and money into experimenting with it this year. Budget Too Smal Not Enough Engagement One reason why social media users may not be seeing the results they've hoped for is that they aren't allotting enough of their budget to their efforts. Another reason why some owners haven't had much success is that they aren't updating enough. 36.5% of users say they post new content via social media once a week or less. SMT WT FS 43.2% said they allotted 0-10% of their marketing budget to social media in 2011. 36.5% 0-10% Once a month 21.5% 10% Worse yet, 21.5% say they've allotted "none" of their budget to social media. 10% of those users say they update less than once a month. Regular, active engagement is a big part of success with social media. If these users put more time into their campaign, it might positively affect their results. No Longer Just a Young Person's Game Social media had been considereda hallmark of younger generations, but research shows that nearly as many older business owners are using it. AGE: Percent Using Social Media 21-24 72.7% 25-34 72.9% 35-44 68.9% 45-54 58.4% 55-64 64.6% 64-75 36.8% How Social Media Is Used Social media has nearly limitless business applications, from internal communication to customer service. Today's owners are using their tools for: NEWS Attracting New Customers: 40.8% Communicating Company News: 15.7% BRAN Keeping In Touch With Existing Customers: 11.3% Promoting Company Brand: 27.6% Some or all of these tasks: 1% webs SAUS ATANOS Small Business Social Media Will Grow 201l ח We surveyed 1,132 small business owners about their use of social media for business. We found that these companies are still getting started, haven't all reached their goals yet and plan to ramp up their efforts this year. The Majority Are Getting Involved Facebook in the Lead of business owners say they use 69% social media at their companies. 89% BUSINESS Over 89% reported using it. 68% named it as the social media tool they use most. In 3 months 41% Respondents reported using Facebook more often than their own blog, indicating that business owners have found the tool to be an easier and more effective means of Of those who don't currently use it, 41% say they plan to start using it in the next 3 months. communication. Business Owners Still Learning The Ropes Modern social media for business is still a relatively new field, having achieved mainstream adoption only five years ago. Many small business owners are still just getting started with it: 59.4% of those using social media feel that it has either not met or only somewhat met their expectations. Despite its less-than-ideal outcome, 77.5% plan on spending more on social media in 2011 than they did in 2010. Furthermore, 62.1% say they definitely see social media as a viable way to communicate with customers. Time Using Social Media Results Better Okay Poor Time Learning Social Media Our findings indicate that small business owners are still learning social media skills. While they may not yet possess the ability to produce big results, they see the potential of social media and are willing to invest more time and money into experimenting with it this year. Budget Too Smal Not Enough Engagement One reason why social media users may not be seeing the results they've hoped for is that they aren't allotting enough of their budget to their efforts. Another reason why some owners haven't had much success is that they aren't updating enough. 36.5% of users say they post new content via social media once a week or less. SMT WT FS 43.2% said they allotted 0-10% of their marketing budget to social media in 2011. 36.5% 0-10% Once a month 21.5% 10% Worse yet, 21.5% say they've allotted "none" of their budget to social media. 10% of those users say they update less than once a month. Regular, active engagement is a big part of success with social media. If these users put more time into their campaign, it might positively affect their results. No Longer Just a Young Person's Game Social media had been considereda hallmark of younger generations, but research shows that nearly as many older business owners are using it. AGE: Percent Using Social Media 21-24 72.7% 25-34 72.9% 35-44 68.9% 45-54 58.4% 55-64 64.6% 64-75 36.8% How Social Media Is Used Social media has nearly limitless business applications, from internal communication to customer service. Today's owners are using their tools for: NEWS Attracting New Customers: 40.8% Communicating Company News: 15.7% BRAN Keeping In Touch With Existing Customers: 11.3% Promoting Company Brand: 27.6% Some or all of these tasks: 1% webs SAUS ATANOS Small Business Social Media Will Grow 201l ח We surveyed 1,132 small business owners about their use of social media for business. We found that these companies are still getting started, haven't all reached their goals yet and plan to ramp up their efforts this year. The Majority Are Getting Involved Facebook in the Lead of business owners say they use 69% social media at their companies. 89% BUSINESS Over 89% reported using it. 68% named it as the social media tool they use most. In 3 months 41% Respondents reported using Facebook more often than their own blog, indicating that business owners have found the tool to be an easier and more effective means of Of those who don't currently use it, 41% say they plan to start using it in the next 3 months. communication. Business Owners Still Learning The Ropes Modern social media for business is still a relatively new field, having achieved mainstream adoption only five years ago. Many small business owners are still just getting started with it: 59.4% of those using social media feel that it has either not met or only somewhat met their expectations. Despite its less-than-ideal outcome, 77.5% plan on spending more on social media in 2011 than they did in 2010. Furthermore, 62.1% say they definitely see social media as a viable way to communicate with customers. Time Using Social Media Results Better Okay Poor Time Learning Social Media Our findings indicate that small business owners are still learning social media skills. While they may not yet possess the ability to produce big results, they see the potential of social media and are willing to invest more time and money into experimenting with it this year. Budget Too Smal Not Enough Engagement One reason why social media users may not be seeing the results they've hoped for is that they aren't allotting enough of their budget to their efforts. Another reason why some owners haven't had much success is that they aren't updating enough. 36.5% of users say they post new content via social media once a week or less. SMT WT FS 43.2% said they allotted 0-10% of their marketing budget to social media in 2011. 36.5% 0-10% Once a month 21.5% 10% Worse yet, 21.5% say they've allotted "none" of their budget to social media. 10% of those users say they update less than once a month. Regular, active engagement is a big part of success with social media. If these users put more time into their campaign, it might positively affect their results. No Longer Just a Young Person's Game Social media had been considereda hallmark of younger generations, but research shows that nearly as many older business owners are using it. AGE: Percent Using Social Media 21-24 72.7% 25-34 72.9% 35-44 68.9% 45-54 58.4% 55-64 64.6% 64-75 36.8% How Social Media Is Used Social media has nearly limitless business applications, from internal communication to customer service. Today's owners are using their tools for: NEWS Attracting New Customers: 40.8% Communicating Company News: 15.7% BRAN Keeping In Touch With Existing Customers: 11.3% Promoting Company Brand: 27.6% Some or all of these tasks: 1% webs