Most smaller firms using social media
27 June 2012
Most smaller firms using social media
A survey has found that 96pc of small and medium sized firms (SMEs) are using social media tools to promote their businesses.
The survey, carried out by Media Manager, a social media agency based in Cork, questioned 143 people. It revealed 58pc of the respondents used social media to generate sales with 54pc using social media tools to improve customer service. 76pc said they had seen their sales increase through the use of social media.
The survey was carried out to coincide with World Social Media Day which takes place on June 30th.
In terms of social media training, only 46pc received formal training on best practice for their businesses and only 39pc had a social media company policy. Perhaps this is why 66pc had regretted a post/tweet they sent out on behalf of their businesses.
Facebook was the most popular social media tool with 89pc of respondents using it for their businesses. The second most popular tool was Twitter, with 82pc using this platform. 66pc used professional networking site Linked In, 25pc used Pinterest, and 14pc used another social media platform.
"Every day we get calls from businesses that may have started using social media without setting any goals or strategies. We spend a good deal of time fixing mistakes such as operating friend pages instead of business pages. We encourage people to get proper advice and to set down best practice guidelines for their staff. We've seen many examples of the negative publicity that can be created by companies sending out badly thought out messages. However, we've also seen firsthand how effective social media can be as a tool for SMEs," said Vicki Mountjoy, Director of Media Manager.
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