One-Quarter of Small Businesses use Influencers to Create Social Content
One-quarter of small businesses use influencers to create content on their social media channels, according to a new survey of US small businesses from business portfolio website Visual Objects.
Influencers are an accessible source of content and engagement for small businesses looking to build a brand on social media and on Instagram in particular.
It found that the social media platforms small businesses use vary based on company size, age of the business owner and industry of the business itself.
Businesses use Facebook the most (89%), ahead of Instagram and YouTube (48% each), Twitter (41%), LinkedIn (33%) and Pinterest (21%). But it’s significant that 88% plan to increase their investment in social media generally as it remains a popular component of their digital marketing strategies. And the platform in which 28% of small businesses plan to increase their investment is Instagram.
48% of Millennial small business owners plan to invest in Instagram, the platform that’s a huge draw for their generation.
Visual Objects said that Instagram’s appeal could be due to its features that offer opportunities for direct engagement with users.
"Businesses need to appear where their target audience is spending their time online," said Cydney Hatch, social media manager at Disruptive Advertising. "If you look at a lot of the statistics, Facebook and Instagram are some of the top places people spend a lot of their time online."