This year, small businesses are planning on investing more into social media this year. Social media strategy and content management is already up from a year ago. Last year, 50% of small business owners said they are spending more time (and putting more value) on social networks, particularly Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter in order to grow their business.
Return on Investment
Most business owners have admitted that this increase in social media activity comes from a return on investment that they have been able to track over the year. Over 30% of business owners say they have been able to realize and track an ROI.
Source of Social Media Knowledge
Over one third of businesses that are active on social media say that they look online to resources. Of course, there are plenty of online resources, however the problem is time management. That is why about 20% of companies look to third parties to help with their social media management.
Trends in Social Media
As mentioned, there is definitely an increase in the use of social media for businesses across the board. However, most companies are turning from just maintenance to the development of a particular strategy that is more focused on a return on investment. This means that strategy and style is changing and more knowledge and experience is needed to maintain high quality in their posts. Most businesses agree that Facebook is the most difficult social media platform in terms of developing content to post, followed by LinkedIn. Twitter seems to be the easiest of them all.
What is clear is that there is more investment (of both time and money), which signified the increase in importance that businesses are placing on social media.
