ATLANTA-A new survey has found one-fifth of small business owners or executives have become a fan, friend, or follower of a financial institution their company uses on any of the social networks they visit .
The study, called "Maximizing Small Business Financial Relationships" and released by SYNERGISTICS, looked at companies with annual revenues between $1 million and $4.9 million, also found that 23% of small businesses visit social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace or Twitter for business purposes or when searching for information to help them with their business. Companies in the highest annual sales category are least likely to do so, the study discovered.
"While findings tend to indicate that social media does not play a leading role as an information resource utilized by small business owners and executives, it is not insignificant that one-quarter have used these channels for information to help them with their business and one-fifth have become a fan, friend, or follower of one of their FIs," said Genie M. Driskill, CEO of SYNERGISTICS. "Social media should continue to be included in small business marketing programs and positioned as an outreach initiative."
