I came across a great study yesterday through Direct Marketing News, concerning small- and medium-size businesses (SBMs) and how they use social media. The study, conducted by Duct Tape Marketing and Vocus, captures the pulse on how SMBs see social media now and in the future. Not suprisiingly, 87% of SMBs say social media has been helpful or somewhat helpful for them in the past, and 84% will increase future spending. Overwhelmingly, 91% of them say sharing info is the most common use for social media, while 46% also see it as a place to handle customer issues.
As the use of social media increases, it seems companies are challenged with how to manage the process. There is a realization that social media is not free, and if a company is to be truly engaged, then process must be managed. 73% of the companies have added the duties to the existing marketing staff. Speaking from experience, this may water down the effect of not only social media, but also the rest of a company’s marketing budget. For some, a dedicated resource, or outside help may be the answer.
The approach SMBs take to the preferred size of audiences is interesting. 40% of SMBs would prefer smaller, but more engaging audiences, while 27% were looking for the numbers. Typically the larger the company, the more they were focused on the size of the audience. The number
one goal for SMBs using social media is to increase traffic to their website (76%).
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Facebook is currently the most commonly used (73%), but a significant portion of companies are looking to Google +, Instagram and Pintrest as sites to use in the future. It will be interesting to watch their growth into 2013.
One thing is certain. Theuse of social media will continue to grow and the portion of a company’s budget
dedicated to social media marketing will increase as well.
Read more:
http://www.slideshare.net/fullscreen/Vocus/vocus-study-of-sm-bs-and-social-media-final/1
http://www.dmnews.com/b2b-b2c-smbs-say-size-matters/article/260945/
As the use of social media increases, it seems companies are challenged with how to manage the process. There is a realization that social media is not free, and if a company is to be truly engaged, then process must be managed. 73% of the companies have added the duties to the existing marketing staff. Speaking from experience, this may water down the effect of not only social media, but also the rest of a company’s marketing budget. For some, a dedicated resource, or outside help may be the answer.
The approach SMBs take to the preferred size of audiences is interesting. 40% of SMBs would prefer smaller, but more engaging audiences, while 27% were looking for the numbers. Typically the larger the company, the more they were focused on the size of the audience. The number
one goal for SMBs using social media is to increase traffic to their website (76%).
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Facebook is currently the most commonly used (73%), but a significant portion of companies are looking to Google +, Instagram and Pintrest as sites to use in the future. It will be interesting to watch their growth into 2013.
One thing is certain. Theuse of social media will continue to grow and the portion of a company’s budget
dedicated to social media marketing will increase as well.
Read more:
http://www.slideshare.net/fullscreen/Vocus/vocus-study-of-sm-bs-and-social-media-final/1
http://www.dmnews.com/b2b-b2c-smbs-say-size-matters/article/260945/