Small businesses to ramp up social media use

The next 12 months will see 78 per cent of small businesses in Australia planning to spend more time on social media as a means of growing their business, according to the Bibby Barometer. 

Of the 200 small businesses (non-retail) surveyed, around half said they are using social media to raise brand awareness and source new customers, with 40 per cent using it to generate new sales and 44 per cent to build networking opportunities. 

On average, small businesses are spending over $3000 a year on their social media presence, the report found. 

According to the June 2012 Yellow Pages Social Media Report, 83 per cent of small businesses are using Facebook, 27 per cent are on Twitter, 20 per cent are on LinkedIn and 12 per cent on Google Plus or YouTube. 

Those most likely to use social media are business owners aged between 18 and 39 years old (66 per cent) compared to owners aged 40-64 (39 per cent), Bibby stated. 

Despite 18 per cent of respondents rating Generation Y as the most innovative contributors to a business, they fell short of baby boomers (24 per cent) and Generation X (36 per cent). 

“With optimism on the rise and confidence in sales growth at levels not seen since July 2011, it is not surprising that businesses are using social media to generate new business and raise their profile,” Bibby Financial Services Australia national sales director Gary Green said. 

“We believe small businesses are more willing to think outside the box in terms of promoting themselves and embark on new marketing strategies.”