Northeastern businesses find social media too time consuming

5/18/2011

Business owners are busy people - they are often involved in every facet of their company's operations. So when it comes to using social media to engage shoppers and meet prospective clients, that is just another job added to the list.

As the Boston Globe recently reported, this is especially the case for small business owners in the Northeast. According to a survey conducted by Constant Contact, only 68 percent of entrepreneurs in the Northeast leverage social media, which lags behind the national average.

"A higher percentage of respondents in the Northeast cited 'it takes too much time' and 'it's too difficult' than the national data set, said Constant Contact, which said its survey included responses from 1,572 small businesses nationwide," the paper notes.

With small business lending practices starting to ease, business owners may want to consider bringing on a social media expert. While this may cost more upfront, a contractor significantly reduces the risk of social media campaigns gone awry, while it also ensures entrepreneurs can focus on other tasks at hand.