Using Social Media to Promote YOUR Company?
September 2nd, 2010Over a third of SMEs use social media on a daily basis to promote their
businesses, new research has revealed.
A survey of 269 companies conducted by Daryl Willcox Publishing found
that half (54%) used social media – and 35% of these said they posted
updates every day to platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. A
quarter of companies updated every few days, while 17% used social media
platforms weekly.
Almost three quarters of the companies experimenting with social media
claimed they used LinkedIn (73%) the most, compared to Facebook (64%)
and Twitter (63%). Of those who did not reach customers via social
media, more than a third (35%) blamed a lack of time, 31% said their
customers didn’t use it while 24% didn’t understand it.
Multiple reasons businesses gave for using social media included
networking (68%), attracting new customers (63%) and raising brand
awareness (61%). The research also found that 14% admitted to using
social media simply because others were doing it and 12% said they were
engaged ‘just for the sake of gathering followers’.
In contrast to big brands using incentives such as money-off vouchers to
develop and grow social media audiences, 83% of SMEs said they did not
use such incentives to attract followers, friends and fans. Despite
this, 60% said social media was having a positive impact on their
business. 46% reported an increase in brand awareness and 36% said they
had attracted new customers.
“The number of companies participating in social media on a daily basis
shows the growing importance of this marketing channel,” said Daryl
Willcox, founder of Daryl Willcox Publishing. “The fact that 60% have
reported a positive impact on their businesses shows SMEs are becoming
increasingly receptive to the benefits.”
The survey also found the use of social media by SMEs is still in its
infancy, with more than two-thirds using it for less than a year.
Other forms of marketing still take precedence over social media –
around half of the total sample carried out email marketing, search
engine optimisation for their websites and direct mailing. More than a
third (34%) used online press release wires to distribute their news.
The proportion of SMEs using social media has doubled since Daryl
Willcox Publishing, which helps small businesses raise their profile in
the media, last conducted research into SME use of social media in
December last year.







