The proportion of Australian businesses with a social media presence has reached record levels, with more than half of small businesses (51 per cent) and medium businesses (58 per cent) having a profile, and large businesses jumping from 60 per cent in 2017 up to 85 per cent this year.
In part two of the 2018 Yellow Social Media Report, released today, there is no sign of social media slowing down for businesses. Many are planning even greater use and expenditure on social media in the next 12 months.
“This year’s report suggests an ever-increasing number of businesses are recognising that social media is becoming an increasingly important part of doing business locally and nationally. And most businesses – just over six in 10 – expect social media will contribute to their bottom line in terms of increased sales,” said Erin Williamson, Yellow’s Head of Marketing.
The Yellow Social Media Report is an annual survey of 1000 telephone interviews with SMEs and 100 large businesses across the nation. It looks at how they use social media channels like Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and online blogs, online rating and review mechanisms.
“When it comes to the most popular social platforms for business, Facebook is the standout across all business sizes, it’s used by about 90 per cent of them, which puts them right where their customers are: 44 per cent of Facebook users follow brands or businesses on that platform,” Ms Williamson said. “But you’ve got to keep your content updated and relevant. In our consumer report we found unappealing posts or ads are the biggest contributor to why a consumer would stop following a brand or company.”
This year there are very few businesses that intend spending less on social media. A significant number of businesses expect to spend more, if not at least the same amount, on social media and it seems they expect to enjoy healthy returns on their social media investment.
“These findings clearly highlight that Australian companies today see social media channels and having a social media presence as an integral part of doing business – and as a means of doing better business,” Ms Williamson said. “I think we can expect to see the number of businesses using social media continuing to rise and we will see more businesses innovating in how they harness the potential reach and power of social media to grow their customer base, business networks, sales and profits.”
