Small businesses are becoming more comfortable with social media, according results of a new survey released this morning by Constant Contact. The Fall 2011 “Attitudes and Outlook Survey,” which Constant Contact said was released in conjunction with “Small Business Saturday,” also reports that small businesses still rely heavily on in-person interactions and events in addition to email marketing and Web site marketing to reach their customers, while mobile adoption remains slow.
The findings show the following shift in perceptions of small business operates since Constant Contact’s last survey in the Spring of 2011:
Small businesses report allocating more time to social media marketing to reach consumers, and 81 percent reported using social media to market their businesses, up from 73 percent in the spring of 2011.
Of those using social media marketing, Facebook continues to be the tool of choice for small businesses with 96 percent reporting using the tool. Twitter is quickly gaining ground; usage surged in the last six months, from 60 percent in Spring 2011 to 76 percent today.
Effectiveness scores also improved across certain key social media marketing channels in just six months:
Effectiveness scores remained flat for review sites, video sharing, and location-based services, and decreased for photo sharing and MySpace.