Social media, such as blogs and Facebook pages, is becoming an increasingly important tool for helping small firms to identify and attract new customers, research has found.
The Small Business Success Index from the Center for Excellent in Service (CES) at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business and Network Solutions shows adoption of social media among these companies doubled last year from 12 per cent to 24 per cent.
In the main, firms are looking to blogs, LinkedIn profiles and Facebook pages to build on their other internet marketing services, with 61 per cent saying they use them to bring in new clients.
Among companies that have added social media to their marketing mix, 75 per cent said they are on a social network and 57 per cent use business sites like LinkedIn.
A further 45 per cent believe social media will be profitable to their business over the coming year.
CES director Janet Wagner said: “Time spent on Twitter, Facebook and blogs is an investment in making it easier for small businesses to compete.”
David Wilson of the Sydney Morning Herald said search engine optimisation is vital for smaller firms looking to get blogs and company websites on the first page of search engine results.
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source: http://www.clickthrough-marketing.com/Social-media-boosts-small-firms-internet-marketing,-says-report/19620434/
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