Small Businesses Use LinkedIn More Than Facebook

A new survey shows that more small business owners use LinkedIn more than any other social media platform.

Small business owners use LinkedIn more than any other social media platform (yes, even Facebook), according to a new survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal and Vistage International.

Of the 835 business owners surveyed, 30 percent use LinkedIn regularly—making it the most frequented platform—and 41 percent nominated it as the most valuable agent for growth.

Small business owners said LinkedIn encourages effective engagement when compared to other outlets, and its impact is more enduring, especially in contrast with Tweets, according to the article.

Not all social media experts agreed with the findings, including Maurice Freedman, the founder of digital creative agency Zaah Technologies, which consults on digital media strategy with celebrities as well as large brands, including Maxim.

“I can’t imagine trying to use LinkedIn to promote my business,” he said. “As far as finding good people to work with at the partnership level, I think it does work. But to expand your masses from LinkedIn, I don’t know who’s receiving that information well. It’s the 2013 version of cold-calling from the yellow pages.”

The survey indicated Facebook is the second-most utilized platform, carrying 22 percent of owners, followed by Twitter, with just 14 percent. Owners calculated social media’s value by how many page views or returns their online efforts can generate, the article reported. Melissa Marie Fassetta, the social media manager at Zaah, said determining a platform’s potential depends on the type of business.

“If they’re looking to get to the consumer, Facebook could be the best, especially if you’re going after a younger demographic,” she said. “But if you’re looking for a more professional demographic, LinkedIn would be the way to go.”

The platforms that have the worst potential to improve numbers are Pinterest, Twitter, and Google+, respectively, according to the survey. And about a third of owners surveyed said they do not make use of social media at all in their businesses.

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