The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recently reported that only 18.1% of Australian businesses have a social media presence.
Yes, that’s right – the figure is less than a quarter of businesses.
With Facebook’s Australian user base standing at 11.5 million (9 million of whom use it daily), it’s really surprising that business owners don’t realise that those 11.5 million people are actually potential customers.
So, what’s the problem?
The Australian Government’s Digital Business initiative recently posted an article about SMEs not taking advantage of social media.
One person replied as an online comment that, “Most (small) business owners are too busy doing other things, like running their business.”
While this may be true, the cost of entry for this marketing tool is zero. It costs nothing to set up a business page in Facebook, a twitter account or a LinkedIn profile.
You don’t have to update it every five seconds – a few times a month is fine. Customers like to see businesses using social media – it makes them seem more accessible, with more and more people turning to the internet to find businesses (i.e. electricians, hairdressers, dentists).
That means your social media-connected competition is probably benefiting from your lack of online presence.
If you’re lost for words and can’t think of something to post on your page, why not post a photo, video, or link? It takes no time at all and you will see the benefits. And if you really are too busy, consider hiring a part-time social media manager or get in contact with us today and we’ll do the hard stuff for you.