STUDY: 75% of Small Businesses Are Not Engaging In Social Media

Despite the success stories of small companies engaging in social media, most companies do not see the value of it.

According to a survey conducted for Citibank Small Business, 75% of small businesses revealed that they have not found social media sites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn helpful in generating leads or business expansion.

500 U.S. businesses with fewer than 100 employees were surveyed.

It was also found that, to generate business leads and sales,

• 25% are using more online advertising
• 28% are using more email marketing
• 42% have made greater use of their company websites

Most small businesses are too quick to judge social media?

Unlike Dell’s huge economic success through Twitter, many businesses actually don’t see as much direct benefits.

Social media extends your online brand presence and helps you build personal relationships with consumers. Even if your brand image has been improved, the effects of it are not immediate. Customers are not going to purchase something from you just because you have done well on social media; but when the need arises, be sure that the you are the first brand they think of.

Another great benefit of social media is its ability to gather valuable feedback and product ideas. It is also a great place to extend customers’ post purchase experience. An ad can trigger them to make purchase, but social media looks beyond that. Unfortunately, many businesses don’t use social media for these purposes.

Most of them only care about immediate (one time) business leads and sales. Building relationships takes time and a lot of sincerity, but the result is increased customer retention and brand presence.

So tell me, which do you prefer?