Is Facebook really the best social media for customer acquisition?

Fresh data has revealed that small businesses are continuing to increase their use of social media marketing, with nearly half (44%) now using social media channels to help their businesses.

Broadly speaking, the leading reasons for using social media have evolved since the last edition of the American Express OPEN “Small Business Monitor”. Most marketers were using social media for business specifically to maximise exposure back in September 2010. The latest survey suggests that they are now turning to social media for customer acquisition purposes.

And the majority of these efforts are being focused on the top social networking sites, namely Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

The numbers, crunched by American Express OPEN for its Spring 2011 update, reveal that usage of Facebook for customer acquisition was up by 8% from September 2010. Meanwhile, LinkedIn usage was up 6% and the use Twitter marketing to attract new customers rose by a more modest 2%.

As well as the blindingly obvious perks of the big three platforms in terms of audience and reach, other social media tools are also continuing to attract marketers’ attention. Usage of blogs and YouTube to lure new customers has also increased by 3% and 4% respectively, suggesting their growing importance in the social media marketing mix.

And while small businesses are ramping up their social media strategies, they are in turn expressing a demand for niche expertise. Some 9% of the small businesses surveyed said that a social media expert would be the most helpful addition to their business, coming in as the second most popular choice after a bookkeeper.

Company websites and an effective SEO strategy remain the most popular online marketing tactics for small businesses, suggesting the ongoing need for top-notch website optimisation as part of a sustained digital strategy.