Back in October, Citibank conducted a study of small businesses, and found that 75% of small business DON’T find social media useful. (For the study, 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
There are a myriad of reasons why small businesses are slow to adopt social media tactics.
“What this survey indicates to us is small businesses are very, very focused on running their business and on generating sales and managing their cash flow and doing the things that are really important, especially in these economic times,” Veltre said. “I don’t think quite yet the social media piece of it has proven to be as significant.”
Another study conducted by Inc. 500 has revealed that 91% of Inc. 500 firms are using at least one social media tool in 2009, and about 75% declared that they are “very familiar” with social networking.
The statistics below will show you why.
Surprisingly (to me at least) , blogging has yet to cross the 50% mark. I would have figured the rate would be higher. Is it that the value of a corporate blog is undermined? Or is it not worth the effort to blog good content? Many companies would rather stick to tools like Facebook and Twitter, where information is disseminated in bite-sizes.
Anyhow, it is apparent that the social media wave is not dying off any time soon, and Inc. 500 companies are definitely making full use of these tools. Will small businesses catch up? Or are social media tactics not as applicable to small businesses?
Via: eMarketer
SocialSonya - Marketing Coach 
Hi Sonya,
definitely interesting statistics. One reason I can see for the slow adoption of social media with small business owners is the lack of resources which translates to the lack of analysis that illustrates the effectiveness of social media in day to day business. Oddly though, I think that it’s especially because of this lack of resources that small businesses SHOULD adopt social media. It’s really the beginning of the web syndrome all over again: misunderstanding of its benefits and how to effectively use it. I remember hearing business owners in the past saying “I created a website, it cost me a lot, but no one came”. Now the funny thing is that it costs “nothing” to adopt social media: time and effort mostly.
Hi Alex, welcome back! 😀
I totally agree – I’m hearing that with every small biz client I have. We don’t have the resources. I’ve taken it upon myself to help them understand the benefits of taking the dive. Additionally, it can be a lot simpler than most small biz owners think. I get asked all the time – “How do you find the time”? Well, this post took me about 15 mins to write. Most people should be able to find 10-15 mins every couple of days.
Anyway, thanks for commenting – I love reading your comments! ~Sonya
Exactly. If you’re dedicated to your business, you should take the time to improve your brand awareness and get in touch with who is the most important – your customers.
Always nice to read your blog!
cheers