Viral Marketing News

Social media and its impact on local advertising was the subject of a recent study done by Borrell Associates, a consulting firm that produces industry related advertising reports. In a recent article marketingland.com reported on some of the interesting findings from this study, not least of which was how widespread faith in Facebook and Facebook advertising has become in the last few years.

The study drew from a pool of survey responders representing a spectrum of local businesses in the US, that range from small businesses to big advertising spenders, with budgets of $100k or more. The survey recorded the following stats about local business Facebooking habits:

• 85 percent of the businesses surveyed have some kind of social media presence
• Nearly 80 percent had a Facebook page
• 62 percent are buying Facebook ads

Those businesses that were buying Facebook ads were spending an average of $1,500 per year.

Social media in general was ranked by survey responders as the third best source of new customers for their, following referrals and websites in the top two positions. 44 percent of those responders who said that social media was their top channel for acquiring new customers. This 44 percent of local businesses that fully embrace social media had some unique characteristics of their own. They tend to be independent, smaller businesses with less than $1 million in gross sales. They were also more likely to have a single location, and cater to customers, versus only businesses. 76 percent manage social media themselves, and 57 percent pay to boost posts.

Source: Paid Search