Social media use is becoming increasingly important among Canada’s small businesses.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says that since 2009, Facebook use has doubled from 22 to 54 percent. As well, those using LinkedIn went from six to 32 percent, while Twitter use jumped to 22 percent, up from about three percent.
The study also found that Facebook tends to be used by consumer-facing businesses, while LinkedIn is preferred by businesses primarily dealing with other businesses.
“Small businesses have come to understand how essential digital technologies are to their business,” said Corinne Pohlmann, the CFIB’s Senior Vice-President for National Affairs & Partnerships. “As a result, more and more of them are adopting these technologies and integrating them into their activities every day.”
Pohlmann says the vast majority now see having a website as essential to doing business.
The numbers collected are based on a survey of more than 6,300 CFIB members at the end of last year.
It found that it’s the younger businesses that end to use social media the most. About 72 percent of those that have been open for less than five years use it, while more established businesses open for 10 years or more see only 48 percent making use of it.
Pohlmann says the biggest challenge in adopting the new digital technologies is that they’re too time consuming.
“They require constant updating and management,” said Pohlmann. “This means that larger firms tend to use them more than smaller ones as they have the resources to manage the tools properly. Also, about a third of small businesses found them too costly to adopt.”
More information on this survey can be found by clicking here.
– Posted by BET
