For Small Businesses, Half The Business Now Coming From Social Media

Amazing results from a recent study conducted by Northwestern Academic, Professor Rich Gordon and Syndio Social CEO Zachary Johnson, that set out to determine  how websites regardless of size interact on the web. To achieve this, the study looked at  links between over 300  based news sites and looked at analytics data and referral sources for 100 of them.

The results of the study were both copious in number and importance, but beyond this, there were some pivotal findings for business owners and managers with respect to social media is now such an important tool in promoting businesses regardless of type, size or location. 

The most revealing findings were as follows:

Access to Key Social Media Sites Are Vital to Generate Traffic

The study clearly showed that the big boys such as Facebook and Twitter drive more than half of all referred visits for small business sites, three times the percentage of larger sites. Facebook, specifically, was shown to be extremely important to smaller sites.

The bottom line here is that the waiting is over, if you are in business in 2012 and beyond you need to get on board. Game over.

Drive Links and Traffic First to Get Links and Traffic

You need to send links outwards first to other websites to respond. Give to get as they say.

The laws of reciprocity apply here as they do in the rest of the universe.

Smaller Sites Rely on Traffic From the Local Ecosystem More Than Larger Sites

The study wanted to understand how fit into the larger local system of sites. For example, do sites owned and operated by the same organization tend to link to one another more than they do outsider sites? If yes, what percentage of their traffic do those links make up?

On this the research clearly showed that the share of traffic that smaller sites get from other related niche sites more than 10 times as great as that of larger sites. 

This clearly underpinning the importance for SMEs's to integrate with the local community landscape. Simply put if you are a local business you need to become apart of the local e-landscape and participate in the discussion, sharing and general participation.

The implication for SME's is to start to ramp up strategic alliances and other forms of cross promotion activities to drive the synergy between you.  

And until next time, good luck and good marketing.

Regards
Daniele.