Small businesses still give social media the cold shoulder

August 02, 2010

Even though an estimated 940 million people are part of some sort of online network, most small businesses haven’t embraced social media. A March poll of small-business executives by Citibank N.A. found that 81% were not using social-media sites. Only 30% said they planned to use social media to market their businesses in the next year.

Yet social-media experts say tools like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare can be particularly beneficial for small firms because they provide a low-cost way to reach potentially large numbers of people.

“It can level the playing field and give a small business equal exposure or even more exposure than a national brand, and it’s great for lead-generation as well,” says Diane Rayfield, the head of Harp Social, an Oakbrook Terrace-based social-media marketing agency.

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