SBSI Wave-5
Figure 9
*Includes those who have now plus those planning to within 2 years.
Which internet business solutions did not grow? Online advertising in industry/public directories actually dropped in the past year and is now used by 37 percent of small businesses, while general online ad placements remained flat at 21 percent. One possible explanation may be that SEO and social media are providing alternative methods to direct traffic to small business websites, as opposed to more costly out of pocket advertising spending. This trend may change as small businesses improve their financial situation and are able to spend more.
What are the fastest growing technologies among small businesses? Based on intention (see Figure 10), the fastest growing technology will be online advertising that places ads on various websites, and social media. The increase in general online advertising may be due to increased budgets, while social media growth may be part of a long range trend. Website adoption is starting to slow, but this is due to the fact that two-thirds of small businesses will have a site in two years.
figure 10
Small businesses maintain an online presence for their business for a variety of reasons. For a third of small businesses who have an online presence, the primary role is to provide leads for new business (30 percent) or provide customer service (28 percent) (see Figure 11). The lead generating role increased in importance since June 2010; now, almost half of small businesses (46 percent) consider this to be a “primary” or “secondary” role. As small businesses, short on staff and resources, start to see the economy improving, internet business solutions and an online presence may be critical to driving customer acquisition.
figure 11
Businesses can benefit from continually updating their websites, particularly since this activity helps their rankings in search engines. Yet, only a fifth of small businesses update their sites weekly (see Figure 12). Over half of small businesses (55 percent) with websites update the sites less often than monthly, and 26 percent update their sites once a year or less often. Small businesses may find they can compete more effectively if they undergo a more disciplined process of updating their sites regularly.
figure 12
Social Media Use
After a lull the middle of last year, social media use by small businesses has started to grow again and is now used by almost one out of three enterprises. Awareness of social media sites is high among small businesses, with nearly everyone having heard of Facebook (97 percent) and Twitter (94 percent) (see Figure 13). Only half (52 percent) of small businesses are aware of professionally oriented LinkedIn. While most small businesses have heard of blogs, slightly more than half (55 percent) have heard of “location-based services, such as FaceBook Places, Foursquare, Gowalla and Yelp”, and less than half (47 percent) have heard of “localized deal-of-the-day couponing sites, like Groupon and Living Social”.
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