According to a recent survey conducted by MerchantCircle, in terms of adoption of commercialization of SMEs, advertising on Facebook (23%) is only behind the advertising printed in newspapers (25%) and direct mail (24%).
The survey data also indicate that group offers (12%) are also growing in terms of adoption, even before the online newspaper (11%), but behind PPC and SEM (18%).
In the case of group offers, 26% of respondents say that they have opted for Groupon rather than LivingSocial (21%) and the already extinct Facebook offers (22%). However, despite being used by a smaller proportion of SMEs (19%), Google offers are the ones that have the highest growth scheduled since 32% of respondents say they will use the service in the future, twice as many They will use LivingSocial and also more than those who expected to use Groupon (26%).
The payment by local references also seems to be prepared for growth at least in some key categories such as financial services (61%), companies that improve the home (40%), construction (38%) and the automotive sector (33%) .
The adoption of PPC ads is more widespread in the automotive sector (20%), followed by improvements in the home (17%) and construction (17%). These industries are also part of the first three adopters of group offers; 10%, 8% and 4% respectively.
Meanwhile, 1 in 5 small companies in the financial services category have used Facebook ads, ahead of improvements in the home (17%), the automotive sector (14%) and construction (12%).
When asked about which channel they would choose if they had to invest all their time and marketing budget (only in that one), the majority of respondents chose SEO (32.9%), ahead of traditional media (19 , 7%), social media (16%) and paid advertising (9.8%).
Still, Facebook (but not Facebook ads) is the most common marketing tool, used by 70% of respondents. Google (55%) and LinkedIn (52%) are also used by the majority. Only 32% reported using Twitter.
According to a November report by Constant Contact, among the SMEs that reported the use of social media, 96% chose Facebook and 86% classified it as very effective.
However, Twitter found itself gaining ground quickly, being used by 76%, and of that total 60% of the cash they have found.