We recently surveyed 500 SMB principals on the social media they use to promote their business. We wanted to know which they use, which they find most effective, and where they plan to increase spending the most this year.
Facebook is the most effective of the social media platforms surveyed for very small businesses (VSBs, with fewer than 20 employees) and small businesses (SBs, with 20-99 employees). YouTube is second for VSBs; for SBs, it’s LinkedIn.
Midsized businesses (MBs, with 100-500 employees) rank Instagram first in effectiveness, followed by Facebook. YouTube is in the top three for all three size groups.
Social Media Effectiveness for SMB Promotion
SBs plan to increase their promotional spending the most on Facebook this year, which is not surprising given that it is their top-performing social media app. Thirty-four percent of VSBs plan to significantly or somewhat increase spending on Facebook this year. After Facebook, they will increase spending the most on Instagram and YouTube.
SBs and MBs, however, will increase promotional spending the most on YouTube, even though it is currently their third-best performing tactic. After YouTube, SBs will increase spending the most on X (formerly Twitter) and Threads; MBs, Threads, X and Reddit.
2024 SMB Social Media Spending Plans
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