Dec
13
Written by:
IML
Monday, December 13, 2010 4:11 PM
Social media may get all the ink, but it is not getting most of the dollars – at least not from small businesses, says a new report.
The majority of small companies will plow most of their marketing funds into traditional websites and e-mail, says a report by online survey firm Zoomerang and GrowBiz media. The report surveyed 751 small firms, nearly all (89 percent) of which had fewer than 25 employees.
Just over a quarter of those surveyed plan to spend at least 30 percent of their online marketing budgets on their websites in 2011. E-mail ranked second, with 18 percent of those surveyed saying they would spend at least 30 percent of their marketing funds on that. Just 10 percent of respondents said they were planning to spend at least 30 percent of their budgets on social media.
About one in six (17 percent) planned to increase their website budgets next year, while 15 percent planned to up e-mail spending. Just 13 percent planned to spend more on social media.
The report also revealed that 46 percent of those surveyed had no website at all. And of those businesses with websites, the majority of those are very basic. Eighty percent say they provide general information, but just 45 percent provide customer service, and less than a third (30 percent) engage in e-commerce. Fewer than one in seven (15 percent) let visitors make reservations or appointments, and 13 percent have a company blog
.