Social media usage among small businesses has doubled from 12 percent last year to 24 percent this year, partly helped by the weak economy, according to Network Solutions and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
“Tough market conditions mandate small businesses to think and act creatively to sustain themselves,” said Connie Steele, director at Network Solutions, in a press release. “Social media can be the best friend for small business owners who constantly seek new ways to attract new customers and retain the ones they have at a relatively low cost.”
Seventy-five percent of small business owners say they have a company page on a social networking site, while 61 percent say they use social media for identifying and attracting new customers. Fifty-seven percent say they have built a network through a site like LinkedIn and 45 percent say they expect social media to be profitable in the next 12 months, according to the joint study.
Currently, 22 percent of small businesses say they’ve already made a profit thanks to social media marketing, 53 percent broke even and 19 percent lost money.
However, small business owners still have concerns with social media, as half of the respondents said social media takes more time than expected, 17 percent said social media gives people opportunities to criticize their business on the Internet and 6 percent say they feel that social media use hurts their business’ image more than it helps it.
Overall, 58 percent of small businesses say that social media has lived up to its billing.
Small businesses are actually seeing some benefits thanks to the recession, according to the study, as 72 percent say they’ve found ways to operate more efficiently , 47 percent say they’ve been compelled to find new products and services that benefit customers and 43 percent say they’ve become better teams thanks to hard times that brought them together.
In the next two years, small businesses plan on focusing on building or improving company Web sites, showcasing their products and services to attract new customers and social media investments, in that order.
“Social media levels the playing field for small businesses by helping them deliver customer service,” said Janet Wagner, director of the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
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Network
