Only 49% of B.C.’s small businesses are leveraging social media tools, a new BMO Bank of Montreal study has found, despite 57% believing social media is an important tool for business.
Of the small businesses that are leveraging social media tools, the study found that, nationally, 67% have found it beneficial to their business. In B.C., 78% of businesses using social media have found it beneficial.
When asked to rank their favourite social media tool, 56% of B.C.’s small business owners favoured Facebook, 22% chose LinkedIn, 17% pointed to Twitter and 6% selected YouTube.
The study noted that 76% of business owners in the tourism and arts sector deem social media to be important while just 49% of businesses in retail and wholesale agree.
BMO commercial banking area manager Richard Dendy noted that social media is particularly valuable where companies use it to add value to a customer’s experience.
“If you’re in anything where you can provide added value – whether it’s health, wellness, fitness, retail trends, fads – if you’re providing a service, people really appreciate getting an interactive approach to adding value to that experience,” he said.
Dendy cautioned, however, that a business shouldn’t make its social media channels “all about your business.”
“I think the younger generation who are using social media maybe don’t want to get another ad,” he said. “They want kind of a relationship, a connection that they feel is giving them some sort of information – not necessarily to sell their product.”