Social Media Practices Among Small Business-to-Business Enterprises

Abstract

A national sample of business-to-business (B2B) small businesses was surveyed regarding their attitudes toward and usage of social media in their marketing efforts. Results from this descriptive study show that many B2B small businesses utilize social media in their marketing efforts (54%). The four main purposes for using social media reported by the B2B small businesses were: (1) improving company reputation, (2) increasing customer interest, (3) increasing customer awareness, and (4) promoting business to new customers. Among the 46% not using social media, a substantial proportion (81%) had no intention to do so in the near future. Further, nearly a quarter of those who do use social media report that they do not know the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. Clearly there is still a need among small businesses to gain more knowledge of how to most effectively integrate social media into their marketing plans.