- Only 57.6% of small businesses use social media
- A mere 42% of British businesses had a blog last year
- 3 in 10 users find supporting their favourite brands on social media important
- Only 49.5% of small businesses link to their social media pages on their website
With an estimated new social media user every 15 seconds, there has never been a better time to turn your business’ social media strategy up a notch in 2018.
Company formation experts, Turnerlittle.com, have examined Office of National Statistics (ONS) data on social media usage amongst British enterprises, as well as considering the main reasons why getting social with your businesses should be your New Year’s Resolution.
According to ONS statistics, only 60% of businesses are using social media. However, those who use a professional blog provide an even bleaker number at a mere 42% running a blog for their business. Indeed, there has been a very small increase in businesses entering the blogosphere since 2016, a mere 12.9%, despite the myriad of benefits this can bring, including aiding your SEO efforts, driving traffic to your site and even establishing yourself as an authoritative figure in your business’ industry.
Although small businesses would benefit the most from blogging, Turnerlittle.com revealed that only 38.9% were doing so, compared to 80.4% of companies with over a thousand employees. Unsurprisingly, the Information and Communications (IT) sector blogged the most, with 67.6% of companies stating that they have a blog. Transport and Storage sectors blogged the least according to the study at only 21.7%. The Retail sector, although better at blogging overall, has seen the smallest increase in this activity since 2013 at a tiny +1.6%.
In Britain, on average, only 60% of businesses have a social media presence. However, for small businesses this statistic is even lower, standing at 57.6%. Compare this to enterprises with more than one thousand employees, where 90.3% use social media. Even fewer small businesses link or reference their social media pages on their website, as only 49.5% do so.
Research has revealed that 1 in 5 small businesses will not be investing in social media in 2018. Yet, according to the ONS report, most businesses, across various sectors, cited that they mainly use social media to ‘develop the business’ image or market products’ (23.2% stated this). The second most common reason was to ‘obtain or respond to customers’ opinions, reviews, and questions’.
These are two vital reasons to be present on social networks, especially when you consider that 77% of Twitter uses stated that they feel more positive about a brand when their tweet has been replied to.
A social presence is equally important when seeking new prospective customers. A whopping 39% of social media users believe that finding out about products and services is an important reason for using a social network. Indeed, when questioned, 13% of social media users said they had clicked an advertisement within the last 30 days.
Please see the full article written up here on the blog: 6 Reasons Why Social Media Should be Your Business’ Top Priority in the New Year
