Many Small Businesses Not Engaged in Social Media

According to a new Citibank/GfK Roper survey, most small businesses are not using social networking tools to market their products and services.

According to the survey of 552 small business executives across the United States,37 percent of small businesses have not used a Web site for marketing or expanding their business and 84 percent have not used ecommerce to sell their products or services. Additionally, 62 percent aren’t using basic email for marketing their business.

So what's holding these small businesses back? Are they frightened or overwhelmed at the thought of taking on social media and don't now where to start? It looks like age may be a factor. According to the survey, 27 percent of those business owners under age 45 had used Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter in the past year, compared to 16percent over age 45.

There's a huge opportunity for small businesses to impact their sales through some straight forward tools. If you haven't jumped on the social media bandwagon, start by sending marketing email messages to promote a particular service, discount or holiday promotion. Next, secure your online presence by creating a simple Web site- your prospects and customers expect it. While it may seem daunting at first to tackle Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, there are Web sites and tool that help you integrate all your social media to save time. No budget? No problem- most social media tools are free or very cheap.

Don't lose out on the marketing and communications power that online social media tools can offer your business.