If you’re one of the many home-based travel agents who does all your own marketing (and who isn’t these days?), you’ll be interested to know that more than 90 percent of marketers surveyed in the 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report put together by Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner say they view social media as being important to their business, with the self-employed set finding it even more useful. Sixty-seven percent of self-employed marketers, and 66 percent of SMBs with 2 or more employees, were more likely to “strongly agree” with that statement.
What are marketers getting from social media? The leading benefit of social media for small business is increased brand awareness, as cited by 88 percent of marketers. Other benefits cited were:
• Increased Traffic – 72 percent
• Improved Search Rankings – 62 percent
• New Partnerships – 59 percent
• Better Sales – 48 percent
• Reduction in Marketing Costs – 59 percent for self-employed, 58 percent for SMBs
• Twice as likely to find qualified leads
In a follow-up article from the survey, Social Media Examiner’s Phil Merson pointed out these findings:
• The self-employed and small business owners were more likely to report new partnerships, with at least 59 percent noting a benefit.
• Small businesses were twice as likely to find qualified leads than other types of businesses.
• Forty-eight percent of self-employed and small business owners saw improved sales as a direct result of their social media efforts.
• The self-employed (59 percent) and small business owners (58 percent) were more likely than others to see reductions in marketing costs when using social media marketing.