CorpComms Magazine

There has been a steep rise in Facebook use for marketing purposes among small businesses, up by 50 per cent on last year's results, according to a recent annual survey by PeoplePerHour.com.

The Small Business Survey 2012 found that more than nine out of ten use social networks for business, up by 31 percentage points on the previous year's results.

More than onethird of participants said that social media was 'very important' in their business, and a quarter rated it as 'vital'. Just 12 per cent rated it 'not important'.

More than 70 per cent of those surveyed use Facebook, making it the most popular social network among small businesses. Professional social network LinkedIn followed closely, with just over 65 per cent using the site, while Twitter was used by almost 60 per cent. Just over eight per cent did not use any social networking site.

Almost 60 per cent surveyed use social networks to find potential clients and to meet like-minded people, while just 14 per cent use the sites to discuss non-work related subjects.

The survey involved 1,300 small businesses.

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