Surprise poll: small businesses not into social media (yet)
by Joe McKendrick
As we’ve been discussing here at this site for some time, there are tangible business benefits being realized from adoption of social media platforms as part of a comprehensive Enterprise 2.0 strategy.
However, this is a message that is not getting through to small businesses.
Hiscox, an insurance company. recently surveyed US small business leaders on their social media usage and found that many weren’t using these important channels to promote their businesses and products. Only 12% of businesses described social media promotion as a must and nearly 50% of respondents aren’t using social media at all.
For those that did use social media for their business, 19% use Facebook, 15% use LinkedIn, and 4% use Twitter.
Traditional modes dominate small business communication. Nearly two in five respondents said word-of-mouth was the main way they got business, and another 42% cited word-of-mouth in combination with other marketing promotions.
When all respondents were asked about how they felt about using social media for their business: 12% describe it as a must, they do it all the time; 24% do it when they have the time; and 14% indicated they don’t know enough about it.
