“I still don’t get it.” Or, “I don’t really have the time.” You hear it all the time from other small-to-medium business owners. Time to get over it.
Sure the ever-changing landscape of Social Media can be confusing, but it is also very rewarding. And in terms of not having time–well, you better make.
Recent surveys from Zoomerang and Nielsen slice and dice the Social Media advantage by the numbers–something which every business owner can understand.
First of all, Nielsen finds that 80% of Americans now use a Social Network. Drilling deeper, Social Media users represent the sweet spots in active lifestyles, spending power and as influencers:
Social Media Users life active lifestyles, spend, and influence peers - Nielsen
It gets even better for SMBs. Businesses that have begun using Social Media cite as their top three reasons:
- Connecting with customers
- Visibility
- Self Promotion
Why Businesses Leverage Social Media - Zoomerang
Still not convinced? Then read: 26 Promising Social Media Stats for Small Businesses
To see and download the reports referenced above, please follow these links:
dahlcache 
Hey Bill!
Great post. I like how you incorporated stats and pie charts to your post. It adds credibility to your words. I also enjoy how you use conversational speech and also gives the user action to take- start utilizing SM.
It is true, people that use SM are more likely to post information about their lives (tweet, status update, foursquare, etc.) For instance, I just tweeted that I’m going to a concert later today. Overall great post! I look forward to reading more!
-Angelica
I agree that small businesses are scared of social media and think they don’t need it. Today, this is how we communicate, it’s how we reach a huge target audience and it’s how we turn our small businesses into medium to large ones. I love your statistics – they’re great!