Study: Small Businesses Say Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter Are the Best Social Media Platforms

Small businesses found social media to be more effective in 2012, but they still aren’t utilizing the medium enough, according to a recent survey from Constant Contact. According to a survey of 1,100 U.S. B2B and B2C small businesses and nonprofits, Facebook was noted as far and away the most effective social media platform, but the smaller players in the field got notable boosts in effectiveness ratings. The survey also found that small businesses need help with social media marketing.

The survey, “Constant Contact Small Business Pulse: The Health and Wellness of Small Businesses,” was conducted in December 2012 and is the third installment in an ongoing study of the state of small businesses and how they connect with and grow their audiences.

Most effective social media platforms
According to Constant Contact, 82 percent of respondents said Facebook is an effective social media platform in December, up from 75 percent in May. LinkedIn followed with a 29 percent response, up from just 10 percent in May. Twitter got a 25 percent response in December, up from just 7 percent in May.

YouTube was fourth with a 15 percent response (up from 3 percent), followed by Pinterest with a 9 percent response (up from 1 percent), Yelp with a 6 percent response (up from 2 percent) and Google+ with a 5 percent response (up from 1 percent).

“The sharp increase in effectiveness ratings for both LinkedIn and Twitter is significant,” said Mark Schmulen, general manager, social media, for Constant Contact. “While Facebook remains the dominant platform, small businesses are successfully expanding their engagement to reach audiences across multiple networks. This indicates another positive step in the social media adoption curve for SMBs.”

Frequency of posting
The study found that 25 percent of respondents post daily on Facebook, while 32 percent post weekly. These numbers drop to 13 percent for daily and 18 percent for weekly on Twitter; 3 percent for daily and 10 percent for weekly on LinkedIn; 2 percent for daily and 6 percent for weekly on Pinterest; 0 percent daily and 3 percent weekly on YouTube; 1 percent daily and 1 percent weekly on Instagram; and 1 percent daily and 3 percent weekly on Google+.

The low frequency of posting is far from ideal and may highlight the possibility that small businesses need more help with social media marketing. In fact, Constant Contact found that 54 percent of respondents said they need help with their social media marketing.

Another possible reason for the relatively low frequency of social media posting is that small businesses just aren’t convinced about the channel’s effectiveness. A report from Bank of America found that 32 percent of small-businesses owners said social media is an effective marketing tactic in October, down from 42 percent in April 2012.

A separate study from The Wall Street Journal and Vistage International found that 41 percent of small-business owners thought LinkedIn has the most potential to help them, followed by 16 percent who said the same of YouTube and 14 percent who said the same of Facebook. Just 3 percent of respondents to that survey said Twitter had the potential to be helpful.

“While the majority of small businesses are ‘experimenting’ with social, those who have found success have learned that social media marketing requires a commitment to engaging their audience on a consistent basis,” said Schmulen.

By Jason Hahn