Australian businesses appear disinterested in Twitter, Facebook and Youtube, with only 18 percent of those surveyed using social media to promote their business.
Of perhaps greater concern, only 35 percent of Australian businesses have any website presence at all and only only 13 percent write online newsletters or blogs to promote their business, according to the latest MYOB business monitor survey.
MYOB’s research also made a case for the need for faster broadband access in rural Australia, with regional businesses more likely (41%) to have a website than their city based counterparts (35%). When it came to online marketing 20% of businesses advertise on websites other than their own and 20% of businesses use search engine marketing.
Tim Reed, MYOB CEO, said, “Social media has received a lot of hype in Australia over the last 12 months so it’s quite interesting to see such a low adoption of these online platforms by Australian businesses. Rather than being well established, the results indicate that online marketing is only just emerging in
Australia.”
“Despite the current low adoption rates of social media and websites, it’s inevitable that the use of online platforms will increase rapidly in Australia as business owners see global competitors using these forums to lure local sales offshore,” Mr Reed said.
“This is supported by the finding that almost a quarter (24%) of businesses monitor competitor activity via the web.”
The latest MYOB Business Monitor also reveals that:
- Female business owners are slightly more online savvy than male business owners, with 39% of female business owners having a website compared to 32% of male business owners. Female business owners are also more likely to use social media to promote their business (Female 20% vs Male 17%).
- Businesses in West Australia are more likely to have a website (40%) and more likely to use their website for marketing and sales ‐ ecommerce (25%). Compared to Queensland, with 32% of businesses with a website and 17% using their website for sales and marketing.
- Business owners in New South Wales are the most likely to belong to business networks online (22%), compared to business owners in West Australia (11%).
- Businesses in South Australia are more likely to use social media to promote their business (27%), compared to businesses in New South Wales (15%).
