Social Media Not a Priority for Many Small Businesses

Citibank has released the results of a survey about small business social media use. According to Citibank, few small business owners and managers are increasingly using social networking sites.

Over 500 small business executives across the United States were surveyed, and 76% of them haven’t found sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to be helpful in generating business leads or expanding their business during the last year. 86% said they hadn’t used social networks to get business advice or information either.

Citi "Our survey suggests that small business owners are still feeling their way into social media, particularly when it comes to using these tools to grow their businesses," said Maria Veltre, Executive Vice President of Citi’s Small Business Segment. "While social media can provide additional channels to network and help grow a business, many small businesses may not have the manpower or the time required take advantage of them."

According to the survey, small businesses are relying much more on search engines than they are social media, or even small business-focused sites and WSJ.com.

42% of small business owners and managers say they’ve made greater use of their company’s website to generate business leads and sales in the last year. Among companies with 20-99 employees, 57% say they’ve made greater use of their sites. 28% are using email marketing and 25% are using online advertising for generating leads and sales.