Tech Survey Shows Impact of Social Media on Different Organizations

It’s been a week since the survey we did for Duquesne University’s Small Business Development Center, timed with its 4th Annual Pennsylvania Business Technology Conference.   While we reported on the general outcome of the survey previously (See “Ennect and Duquesne University’s Small Business Development Center Conduct Survey on PA Business Technology Use”), we wanted to do a deeper dive into the results.   

The first thing we wanted to look at was how respondents were dealing with the emergence of new social media channels. 

While the survey suggested that 42% of the region’s organizations have social media marketing strategies in place and 9% plan a move into social media channels, these rates are lower than the national average. (Equation Research reported a small business social media adoption rate of 59% and a “planning to implement” rate of 28%. Other surveys show higher adoption averages.) 

That said, the survey respondents reported many positive effects from their efforts, most notably an increase in brand awareness, leads, and sales:

If we look a little more closely at who was best served by social media, we can see that it’s the really small (mom-and-pop size) businesses that are feeling the positive power of social media.

We can also cut the data vertically to see what industries are reaching their marketing goals through social media.  It appears that nonprofit and business services firms are seeing increased brand awareness and attracting leads through social tools.

 We’ll continue exploring the survey data over the coming days for additional insights.  Stay posted to the Ennect blog for more on this topic.