• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, October 14, 2009

Think your local drycleaner or pizzeria has yet to grasp the marketing promise of social media? Think again, as nearly half -- 45% -- of small businesses have taken the time to establish a presence on Facebook or Twitter, according to a new study from Opus Research advisory service Internet2Go.

"The conventional wisdom is that SMBs are unsophisticated -- but they're adopting social media tools en masse, it appears, because there are fewer barriers to entry than other forms of online marketing," said Greg Sterling, senior analyst at Internet2Go.

Conducted on behalf of small business social network MerchantCircle, the online survey of over 2,000 small business owners found that marketing was considered a luxury by most.

Indeed, 79% of respondents reported annual marketing budgets of less than $5,000 per year, with 44% spending "less than $1,000" annually on advertising and marketing.

Even with regard to online marketing, their "biggest complaint" was that it was "too costly."

Still, whether or not they're familiar with the term "social media," small business owners clearly appreciate its value. Along with their presence on Facebook and Twitter, a full 75% report monitoring online reviews of their business. The most common method was by visiting specific review Web sites -- 47% -- and by searching on their business name -- 44%.

"We've known anecdotally that small businesses are using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, but these numbers are surprising," Sterling added.

Internet2Go is an Opus Research advisory service that tracks the growth and development of the mobile Internet, and related consumer and advertiser behavior, business models and the infrastructure to support it.