“How important is social media to my business?” is a question I hear repeatedly. Especially, as franchisees attempt to juggle or put off their online efforts, thinking and believing social media may fall by the wayside. Well, as the article below confirms, social media will not only stay front and center, it will continue to grow as more and more small businesses are finding social media a key component for business growth.

Increased use of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

Small businesses are continuing to increase their use of social media marketing, and now nearly half are using it to find new customers, according to one survey.

The spring 2011 edition of the American Express OPEN “Small Business Monitor” found the use of social media for marketing was up over previous years. More than a third (35%) of US small businesses reported using online social networking for marketing, up from 15% in fall 2009. In addition, 12% of respondents were using blogs as a social tactic, nearly double the figure from fall 2009.

The leading reason for using social media, according to the September 2010 edition of the survey, was to increase the exposure of the business, and American Express OPEN found that more small businesses were turning to social media for customer acquisition. By spring 2011, 44% were using social media to help their businesses, up from 39% in September 2010. They were focusing on the top social networking sites for those efforts.

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