63% Of SMBs Have Embraced Digital Marketing

Building digital brand awareness is not just for the big-brand retailers. In fact, 63% of small business (SMB) owners are actively using digital channels and solutions to market their businesses, and 59% of these organizations launched a web site using do-it-yourself tools and solutions, according to research from Webs.

The report, titled: Webs Small Business Digital Usage Survey, spotlighted key findings collected from conversations with more than 2,200 small business owners regarding how they’re expanding their businesses into the digital world.

Overall, small- and medium-sized retailers are recognizing the need to move online, as 61% of respondents said they use or plan to use a web site, online storefront, or mobile web site. In addition, 80% of business owners said they acted as their own webmasters, reaffirming the do-it-yourself opportunities for SMBs.

Social media is playing a more central role in SMB retailers’ digital marketing strategies as they expand their presence online. Almost half (46%) of small business owners said they have, or plan to create, a social profile for their business.

Of all social networks, 88% of business owners with social profiles listed Facebook as their top social media marketing channel, followed by LinkedIn (39%), Twitter (31%), Google+ (22%), Pinterest (20%) and YouTube (17%).

Although social media offers a plethora of free marketing opportunities, many business owners said they were willing to spend money to increase their social reach: 65% of respondents with Facebook business profiles said use or are considering using Facebook advertising in the near future.

Click here to access an infographic outlining key findings from the study.