Most Small Businesses (63%) Will Increase Their Investment in Social Media, Indicating Small Businesses View Social Media Marketing as a High Return Digital Marketing Channel That Expands Their Brand and Secures Customers, a New Survey Finds

It’s nearly unanimous among small businesses: Invest more in digital media with an emphasis on social media to boost brand awareness and generate customer leads. That is the finding from a new survey from The Manifest, a business news and how-to website.

Ninety-five percent (95%) of small businesses are committed to spending more on digital marketing in 2019.

Nearly two-thirds of small businesses (63%) will increase spending on social media, and 54% will invest more in their business’s website.

SEO, however, appears to be less of a priority for small businesses: Only one-third (35%) will invest more in that channel.

Robert Weiss, president of MultiVision Digital, a video production agency in New York, says digital marketing is a significant value-add for small businesses.

“I’m a big believer of always starting with digital first because it’s directly quantifiable, and you can turn it off like a light switch if it’s not working,” Weiss said.

Small businesses can easily begin and discontinue digital marketing campaigns due to the low-cost of implementation and the ability to easily analyze digital marketing metrics.

Marketing Technology News: IEEE GlobalSpec Announces Launch of a Lead Nurturing and Marketing Automation Platform for the Industrial Market

Digital Taking Bigger Share of Marketing Resources Among Most Small Businesses

Nearly 90% of small businesses use traditional and/or digital marketing to promote their products and services. More than half of small businesses (58%) use digital marketing.

The top six digital marketing channels small businesses invest in are social media (73%), website (73%), email marketing (57%), SEO (49%), video (34%), and content marketing (32%).

“Digital marketing offers versatility and the freedom to experiment,” said digital marketer Dipti Parmar. “Small businesses can spend a bit of money on each and quickly figure out which one works best for them.”

Experts agree that small businesses should use a variety of channels to maximize their digital marketing investment.

Marketing Technology News: SecureRedact Brings Video Anonymisation to All

Video Marketing Is Not a Priority for Most Small Businesses

Currently, only about 34% of small businesses use videos to promote their services or products, even though video marketing has a high rate of engagement.

Videos can explain information quickly and allow consumers to understand services and products easily. YouTube has more than one billion users, and small businesses should take advantage of this opportunity to engage clients with videos.

Video marketing offers small businesses an ideal opportunity to stand out from competitors.

“High-quality content takes time, money, and effort, but in the end, the results are worth every penny,” said Brittany Gamble, a social media specialist at MyCorporation, a startup consulting business.

The Manifest’s 2019 Small Business Digital Marketing Survey included 529 small businesses from the US

Marketing Technology News: Trust, Value, Credibility – A Guided Approach to Thought Leadership from PAN Communications