How much do small businesses spend on social media?

Small businesses are spending more time on social media, but many are struggling with the added workload, according to a new survey from Vertical Response.

Vertical Response, a PAR Preferred Partner and leading provider of self-service marketing solutions for small businesses, conducted a survey among 462 small businesses on how much time and money they spend on social media activities, including finding and sharing content on popular social networks, and what tasks take the most time.

The survey found that 66 percent of small businesses reported spending more time on social media networks in 2012 than in 2011. Whether it’s posting a quick Facebook update about a new listing or property update on Twitter, social media is just one more way real estate professionals can reach today’s home buyers.

“Our survey confirms that small businesses are understanding the value of social media,” said Janine Popick, Vertical Response CEO. “They’re spending more time doing it, and investing more money into it at a faster rate. But the extra work will likely lead to time management issues, especially for the small business owner who’s handling social media on top of all the other responsibilities of running a company. This implies that small businesses are in need of tactics and tools now to help them save time.”

The survey results suggest the following four conclusions:

Small businesses are spending more time on social media, but many are struggling with the added workload.

Sixty-six percent (or two-thirds) reported spending more time on social media than they did a year ago. Forty-three percent of respondents spend six or more hours per week on social media activities for their business.

Small businesses are focusing on Facebook and Twitter, while adoption of Pinterest and Google+ remains slow.

Facebook remains the most popular, with 90 percent of small businesses surveyed active on the social network. Nearly 70 percent are on Twitter, while half (50 percent) are on LinkedIn. In comparison, only 32 percent are on Google+ and 29 percent are on Pinterest. Approximately one-third of respondents are publishing to their social networks every day. Thirty-two percent post to Facebook at least once per day, while 29 percent tweet on Twitter at least once per day.

Small businesses are realizing the value of content – but, again, time is an issue.

More than half (55 percent) of small businesses surveyed have a blog. Of those, 43 percent publish a blog post at least once a week. Nearly half (45 percent) spend one to three hours to create one post, while 16 percent spend more than three hours.

However, respondents reported that finding and posting content to their social networks are the most time-consuming, followed by: learning and education; analyzing their social media efforts; and following their competitors’ activities. Answering questions posted on social media is the least time-consuming.

Small businesses are finding value in paying for social media.

The survey data show social media budgets are increasing at a faster rate than overall marketing budgets. More than 22 percent reported an increase in their social media budget compared to a year ago, while only six percent reported a decrease. So, there are nearly four times the number of small businesses that have increased their social media budget, versus those that have decreased.

In comparison, there are only two times the number of respondents that have increased their overall marketing budget versus those who decreased: 29 percent reported an increase in their overall marketing budget compared to a year ago, while 17 percent reported a decrease. This suggests that if a small business is going to increase its budget, it will likely be for social media.