The role of social media in driving growth for SMBs in Australia

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The role of social media in driving growth for SMBs in Australia

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DEFINING businesses

Small/Medium$8M to $44.9M AUD

Upper MediumOver $45M AUD

The role of social media in driving growth for SMBs in Australia

SMBs surveyed across Australia240

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Key Findings

SOCIAL MEDIA IS A VITAL TOOL FOR SMB’S

89% use social media to build awareness

72% see social media as essential for the future of the business

REVENUE GROWTH IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO INCREASED MARKETING SPEND ON SOCIAL MEDIA

58% of businesses experiencing hyper-growth directly attribute this to increased spend on social media advertising

Businesses experiencing hyper-growth are more likely to specifically use social media to drive sales or growth

LINKEDIN OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES FOR FINANCIAL PROVIDERS TO INFORM AND INFLUENCE BUSINESSES

78% of businesses use social media for financial purposes

55% of businesses are open to receiving financial information from LinkedIn

66% of LinkedIn users have been driven to action by content on the network

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SMBs are a highly attractive audience, and social media offers a unique opportunity to engage with them

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SMBs in Australia are currently experiencing widespread growth…

Have experienced an increase in total revenue over the past year

Have experienced an increase in customer/client numbers over the past year

Have experienced an increase in overall

profitability over the past year

70%

69%58%

Base: 240 businesses

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81%Of businesses currently use social media

6%Plan to use social

media in the future

Social media is used by the vast majority of businesses in Australia…

Base: 223 businesses

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Social media is largely used for marketing and generating awareness. Top 5 uses of social media

Deliver content and new information about my company

01 51%

03 Generate word-of-mouth about my company

48%

04 Maintain a company presence and identity

45%

05 Promotional purposes and to provide deals

44%

02 Advertise to help increase awareness

49%

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build awareness89%

Increase sales84%

drive business growth

82%

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As such, many SMBs see social media as a vital tool for generating growth.

% agreeing that…

Base: 167 small/medium/large businesses experiencing revenue growth

67% Using social media helps/will help me to stay ahead of the game

72% I see social media as essential for the future of my company

73% Social media is important for marketing my company

73% Having my company presence on social media is important

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The #1challenge facing businesses in today’s market is attracting new customers

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65%say social media is a

vital resource for getting new customers

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88%Advertise to help

increase awareness of my company, products

and services

83%Maintain a company presence and identity

79%Deliver content and

new information about my company

SMB’s see social media offering an effective channel for Marketing and Driving Business.

% reporting that social media is effective for…

BRANDING

ADVERTISING CONTENTDELIVERY

77%Generating new business

leads

LEAD GENERATION

Base: 214 social media users who access for specific business purposes

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75%Find vendors/

companies that can help my company

73% 65%Learn from experts

in my industry

…. Along with impacting operational efficiencies and sourcing % reporting that social media is effective for…

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Find and source new employees

71%Customer service/

support

FIND VENDORS

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

RECRUITCUSTOMER

SERVICE

Base: 214 social media users who access for specific business purposes

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GROWTHIncrease in overall revenue compared to last year

57%

30%

13%

NON-GROWTHDecrease/No change in

overall revenue YoY

HYPER GROWTHSignificant increase in overall

revenue YoY

This in turn provides businesses with the opportunities needed to grow…

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Base: 240 small/medium/large businesses

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Over half of business experiencing hyper-growth directly attribute revenue to social media spend.

% reporting that social media spend contributed to revenue growth

Hyper Growth

58%Growth

39%


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Businesses in hyper-growth are more likely to use social media specifically to drive sales and/or grow their operations

Reported motivations for using social media


91% 86% 79%90% 97% 100%

BUILD AWARENESS INCREASE SALES DRIVE GROWTH

Businesses experiencing revenue growth Businesses experiencing revenue hyper-growth

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Social media (and LinkedIn in particular) is highly influential when choosing a financial services provider

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Over 3 in 4 use social media for financial purposes…

Top 5 uses of social media for financial purposes

Keep up-to-date on financial trends

01 43%

02 Gather preliminary financial information

40%

03 Seek advice on a financial decision

32%

04 Recommend a financial product to others

26%

05 Evaluate or re-think a previous financial decision

21%

Base: 223 social media users

have used social media for finance-related reasons78%

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…with more than half of respondents suggesting they are open to receiving financial information from LinkedIn

Openness to receiving financial content and information on social media sites

of hyper-growth businesses are receptive to receiving financial content on LinkedIn

68%

55% 41% 35% 21% 18%46%


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CREDIBILITY61% agree that LinkedIn allows them to build credibility.

CONNECTION66% agree that LinkedIn lets them connect with vendors or potential partners.

CONTEXT64% agree that LinkedIn provides a relevant context to promote and advertise their company.

COMMUNITY69% agree that LinkedIn provides access to a broader community of other companies to seek opinions.

LinkedIn is seen to provide businesses with the 4Cs…

Base: 143 LinkedIn users

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...providing a valuable resource across different activities in the SMB value chain

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Open Innovation

Marketing& Sales

Sourcing

Customer Service

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This allows LinkedIn to drive action through the content provided to businesses...

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Learned of a new financial company

Shared information about financial trends, products or

companies

Contacted a financial representative / asked for

additional information

Discussed a financial product with a friend or colleague

Learned of a new financial product/policy

Conducted additional research on a financial product

29% 27% 24%

22% 19% 17%


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…to a greater extent than other social media providers.

% who actioned a response after receiving information on each network

50%59%66%

of hyper-growth businesses actioned a response based on LinkedIn content

71%

Base: 143 LinkedIn users; 177 Facebook users; 124 Twitter users

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Ensuring that LinkedIn users discover and consider information is vital to driving action…

Path to Purchase

DISCOVERYGather info / stay up-

to-date

CONSIDERATIONSeek advice/info to make a

purchase

DRIVEN TO PURCHASE ON LINKEDIN

(any action)

82%


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…and also to drive purchases.

Path to Purchase

DISCOVERYGather info / stay up-

to-date

CONSIDERATIONSeek advice/info to make a

purchase

DRIVEN TO PURCHASE ON LINKEDIN

(Insurance policy and/or investment product)

36%


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SMBs are a highly attractive audience, and social media offers a unique opportunity to engage with them

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There are opportunities to drive exploration of content by providing information aligned to their businesses needs…

Top 5 types of financial content expected on social media


26%

26%

25%

21%

21%

52%

48%

46%

46%

44%

22%

26%

29%

33%

35%

New product information

Industry news / strategy information

Market and economic commentary

Networking opportunities

Company background

Info actually received Info expected to be received Remainder info

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Build your followers

Encourage referrals and recommendations

Provide real-time assistance

Build community

Publish thought leadership

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UPDATE

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GROUPS

…which allows us to build relationships with SMBs through various touch points on LinkedIn.

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v

Best practices for marketers

Enable learning throughout each phase of the purchase path

Fulfill unmet content needs

Target hyper-growth companies

Provide resources for the entire SMB value chain

Build your credibility by facilitating open dialogue with these businesses