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Why Small Business Needs Social Media

Guest Post by Erica Bell

Cold, Hard Facts and Social Media Stats To Convince Your Clients To Go Online

Social media is changing the way businesses work. Businesses and customers alike are embracing the change. As your clients’ micro-businesses blossom, incorporate social media into their online marketing campaigns. With a relatively low cost, where the main expense is time, social media can help businesses grow. If you’re having trouble convincing your clients, the following three studies have positive stats to encourage small businesses to make the most of social media channels.

1. In one study, Crowdspring looked at all the ways small businesses used social media. From networks used to sales results, small business are using social media effectively and are gaining new impressions and reaching new customers.

  • 50% of small business owners reported gaining new customers through social media. The two most notable are Facebook and LinkedIn.
  • Small businesses received sale leads through Facebook (42%), LinkedIn (36%) and Twitter (16%).
  • 51% of

  • Facebook users and 64% of Twitter users are more likely to buy from brands they follow.
  • 45% of small businesses expect their social media activities to be profitable within the next year.

2. If you’re on a tight budget, it’s no problem. Starting up and maintain social media accounts requires a larger investment of time than money. Zoomerang found that nearly 60% of small business decision-makers spend less than $100 on social media and most companies don’t have an additional employee whose focus is strictly social media.

3. SMB Group conducted a study of businesses measuring from 1-99 employees in size. Most companies were satisfied with the results of their social media efforts.

  • 59% of the SMBs were satisfied with the results of social media efforts in generating more website traffic
  • 57% of the micro- and small businesses felt they had successfully improved market awareness of the company
  • 52% were satisfied with how they were able to generate new leads and/or sales

As a small or micro-business, social media can be a great asset in increasing brand awareness and generating sales leads. These stats show that the time invested in this as part of a business plan can lead to growth in the company in more than one aspect.

Erica Bell is a small business writer who focuses on topics such as business planning and social media trends. She is a web content writer for Business.com.