Business and Social Media
More businesses than ever are using Social Media. 48% of small businesses, 54% of medium businesses and 79% of large businesses are now on Social Media. So this becomes, 48% of small businesses, 54% of medium businesses and 79% of large businesses are now on Social Media, Tweeting, Facebooking and Instagramming their way to prosperity.
More Queensland small businesses have a Social Media presence than any other state. They’re followed by those in South Australia and New South Wales. WA and ACT small businesses have the smallest Social Media presence. Regional small businesses are more likely to have a Social Media presence than their metropolitan counterparts.
Australians and Social Media
We love our devices! On average Australians own three internet-enabled devices each.
The increase of Social Media use has not really changed in the last three years, with 69% of Internet users having a Social Media profile. However, those people are using it more than ever as a connection tool.
Fifty percent do so daily, with just over a quarter checking in more than five times a day. For almost half (49%) social networking is one of the first things they do each day and this behavior has been growing steadily since 2012.
And we’re keen to connect! 69% of Australians use Social Media with half of us logging in daily and a quarter checking in more than FIVE TIMES a day. In fact, for half of us, social networking is one of the first things we do each day.
The smartphone continues to grow as the most likely device people use to access Social Media. When on a smartphone, people prefer to access Social Media through an app as opposed to a website.
A Social Media presence is highest among Queensland small businesses, with South Australia and New South Wales also exceeding the national average. Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory are distinctly below average. Regional small businesses are slightly more likely to have a Social Media presence than their metropolitan counterparts.
The smartphone continues to grow as the most likely device people use to access Social Media. When on a smartphone, people prefer to access Social Media through an app as opposed to a website.
The proportion who log-in on their smartphones is only marginally higher than recorded previously but there are now more people who own smartphones. In the 18-29 and 30-39 age groups smartphones are used for Social Media interaction by over 90% of people.
How it can help your small business
Facebook continues to be the most popular platform by far, with LinkedIn and Twitter relatively prominent, particularly in medium and large businesses where Instagram and YouTube are also common.
Other platforms do not have widespread appeal, although almost one in five large businesses use Google+.
Facebook is still by far the most popular platform by far, but LinkedIn and Twitter are catching up along with Instagram and YouTube. One in five large businesses are using Google+.
One of the main uses of Social Media for businesses is for two way communication. Its appeal as a customer feedback mechanism for ratings and reviews has increased among small businesses since 2015.
SMEs are mainly using Social Media for communication and, in particular, feedback. More and more people are rating and reviewing products and services on Social Media platforms and, of course, complaining on Twitter doesn’t seem to be losing its appeal. We’ll be posting more information about what to do about a bad review on Social Media soon so stay tuned!
Small Businesses
One of main reasons customers connect with businesses on Social Media is to get discounts and vouchers. In fact, three quarters of small businesses are using this technique and two thirds of medium businesses.
Among businesses offering such incentives, discounts are easily the most popular with small businesses (75%), while giveaways (62%) stand out for medium sized businesses (62%) and large businesses (69%).
Advertising
Paying for advertising on Social Media correlates with business size, with strong growth among large businesses this year. Large businesses are much more likely to now pay to advertise on Social Media than small businesses.
Facebook is again the most favoured Social Media advertising channel across the business world with LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram gaining traction. Most businesses paying to advertise on Facebook and Instagram found their advertising effective.
You’ve probably noticed you can’t seem to log on to Facebook these days without a pop-up for the thing you googled just half an hour earlier! They’ve been slower to start than bug businesses but SMEs are now getting on board the advertising band wagon too. Again, Facebook is the most popular (and therefore expensive) site to advertise on and, according to a recent survey, most found it pretty effective.
How to build your Social Media presence
Among small businesses with a Social Media presence, 34% of small and 26% of medium sized businesses do not have a strategy to drive people to their sites. This is the case for only 6% of large businesses.
Advertising their Social Media presence in traditional media or on other websites correlating with business size and is not uncommon, especially for large businesses. They are also more likely to use links in other directories, competitions and events than small businesses.
Paying social influencers to promote their business is rare across the board. A majority of businesses have options on their website that allow people to share information about the business through their Social Media profiles. This was the case in 2015 and appears to have grown for large businesses.
Only a third of small businesses and a quarter of medium businesses have a Social Media strategy. Some of the most popular ways of directing customers to your site are through links on directories and through competitions and events. Some SMEs pay social influencers (people with big Social Media followings) or send them free samples of goods might then review or write about.
Measure of Success
Very few small businesses measure their Social Media return on investment (ROI) so it’s hard to know just how much business is being generated by their presence on Social Media platforms but, according to the recent Sensis Social Media Report 2016, ROIs for Australian small businesses were 41% for 2015 and 40% for large businesses.
