SBAM survey says Facebook the favorite social media platform for gaining new small business customers

Facebook is overwhelmingly the most-used social media platform by small business owners, according to the latest Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM) Barometer survey. 

Seventy-five percent said Facebook is the social media platform they use most often, followed by LinkedIn at 31 percent and Twitter at 26 percent.

When asked the most important use of social media for their business, 28 percent said to attract and engage new customers, 28 percent said to improve brand awareness and 16 percent said to network. Forty percent said social media increased their number of customers, 29 percent said it increased sales and 21 percent said it increased profits.

“The extensive business utilization of Facebook certainly goes against the stereotype of this social media platform being mostly a place to share selfies and status updates,” says SBAM Communications Officer Michael Rogers. “Small business owners clearly recognize that it’s a valuable customer acquisition tool.”

Sarah Miller, SBAM’s Director of Marketing, administers SBAM’s Facebook and Twitter pages and says that the organization has found that social media is an effective way to reach entrepreneurs across the state. “Small business owners are busy and many make extensive use of mobile technology, so messaging them through Facebook and Twitter is a good use of their time and our marketing resources,” she says.

Four hundred fifteen small business executives were interviewed in late fall 2016 for this round of the Barometer survey.