Some interesting results from a survey by Insurantz.com showing Small businesses are still not catching on to social networking.
- Just 16% of UK SMEs embrace sites like Facebook or Twitter as essential tools for business
- 56% of businesses put off by lack of understanding
- 65% have yet to see any benefit from social networking
- Leisure and tourism industry most avid users
01 July, 2010 - A majority of small business owners and managers struggle to see the relevance of social networking sites to their business according to a nationwide survey conducted by specialist insurance provider, Insurantz.com.
According to the research of more than 1,000 small business owners across the UK, more than half (56%) are put off experimenting with social media because they either do not understand the technology or are yet to be convinced by its benefits. Of those who had used social media to promote their business, 65% had yet to see any genuine returns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the research points to a generation gap, with younger small business owners are far more likely to use social media to market their company than their older counterparts. Nearly a quarter of SME owners aged 18-21 see social media as an essential tool for any modern business, whereas fewer than one in ten over 40’s share the same opinion.
Meanwhile, certain businesses are much more likely to use social media as a way to promote themselves. Leisure and tourism business owners emerge as the keenest digital users with more than a third (37%) seeing social networking as essential.
On the other hand, the food and restaurant industry are surprisingly resistant to social networking according the research with 61% questioning the benefits of digital media as an essential communications channel.
James Pickering, managing director for Insurantz.com, said:
Millions of people visit social networking sites each day at work or at home and yet just 16% of small businesses see digital media as an essential means of marketing their products and services. Our research revealed that SME owners under 30 are the most likely to embrace this type of customer engagement so don’t be surprised if online social marketing becomes increasingly important to the modern small business.
News Source: bisslancaster.com
