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Tasmanian businesses still behind in using social media

According to a recent report, Tasmanian small businesses are behind when it comes to social media.

Small and medium businesses (SMBs) in Tasmania are trailing the country when it comes to using social media to promote and grow their business, according to the 2018 Yellow Social Media Report. Just under half of SMBs (48%) use social media. This is a 3% increase on last year but is still 3% below the national average.

The report shows Tasmania is lingering near the bottom of the table, sitting just above the ACT, Victoria and South Australia, but only just.

“It seems just over half of businesses in Tasmania are reluctant to get behind social media and to harness its potential as a business tool. It’s becoming a really important way to market and advertise products and services, and our research suggests it has a real potential to connect with more customers and build their bottom line,” said Erin Williamson, Head of Marketing at Yellow.

Across Australia, the proportion of businesses with a social media presence has reached the highest levels recorded.

The Yellow Social Media Report is an annual survey of 1,000 telephone interviews with small and medium businesses and 100 large businesses across the country. It looks at how they use social media channels like Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and online blogs, online rating and review mechanisms.

“When it comes to the most popular social platforms for business, Facebook is the standout across all business sizes, it’s used by about 90 per cent of them, which puts them right where their customers are: 44 per cent of Facebook users follow brands or businesses on that platform,” said Williamson.

“But you’ve got to keep your content updated and relevant. In our consumer report we found unappealing posts or ads are the biggest contributor to why a consumer would stop following a brand or company.”

Other key findings include:

 Small (34%) and medium businesses (49%) are advertising on social media to a greater degree than previously. Most businesses believe their social advertising has been effective across all platforms.
 Facebook is by far the most common social media advertising channel for all businesses. Around 9 in 10 have advertised on Facebook.
 Expectations for social media expenditure in the next 12 months is up 18 points for small businesses, 30 points for medium businesses and 23 points for large firms.
 Among SMBs and large businesses with a budget for social media, the average investment increased this year. The average budget for small businesses was $4,879 (vs $2,839 in 2017).
 Across all businesses, almost half their social media spend is on advertising, around one third is spent on content services and the balance pays for strategic management services.
 For SMBs, a greater spend on social media will not mean decreasing expenditure in other marketing or advertising activities.
 From a consumer perspective, 18% of people stopped following at least one company or brand on social media in the three months prior to the survey.
 More than 50% of social media users say they are more likely to trust brands if they interact positively with customers on social media, make their content engaging and relevant, and keep it regularly updated.

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Gali Blacher

Gali Blacher

Gali Blacher, editor, Dynamic Business

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