Social media pays off big for small businesses, says new report

4/11/2011

A new report conducted by the Social Media Examiner gives small business owners looking to adopt social media marketing even more incentive to do so. According to the research, 90 percent of small businesses say that social media helps them to gain more exposure.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (72 percent) said they were able to generate more traffic because of their social media presence, while 62 percent also indicated they were able to improve their search engine rankings. Moreover, 43 percent were able to actually improve their sales directly through social media.

"It takes time to develop relationships that lead to actual business," the report notes in regards to boosting sales. "However, a large percentage of marketers who take the time find great results." Companies that spend 11 hours or more on social media sites per week found even better results.

William Dennis, senior researcher at the National Federation of Independent Business, recently suggested that sales would be a top challenge for small businesses this year. By leveraging social media, entrepreneurs may be able to increase sales in a cost-effective way.