Survey finds SMEs use social media but question its value
More than half of Britain’s small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) now use social media but many question its value according to a new survey.
Through its latest Referendum ballot, which was themed around electronic technology and smaller firms, the Forum of Private Business discovered that 52% of its members now use websites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. However, of those companies using social media sites, that 52%, 27% expressed serious doubts about their value to business. A surprising 21% described them as ‘not useful’ and 6% went even further, labeling them ‘useless’. Only 7% of respondents who use social media described it as ‘very useful’ for their businesses, with 18% opting for a more muted ‘useful’ description.
Forum spokesman Phil McCabe said: “It’s clear that, while a lot of our members are certainly trying out social media for their businesses, many remain unconvinced of its benefits.”
The Forum is currently hosting a series of free breakfast networking events for business owners across the country themed around Web awareness and internet technologies.