Last spring we conducted a study to learn more about small business owners usage of social media. Almost everyone who participated in the survey indicated they had a Facebook Profile ( this was the most most commonly mentioned network).

Part 2 Do You Use Facebook

The majority of respondents (more than 90%) also indicated Facebook was their primary network. This is not surprising, since the simple user interface makes it easy to transition from business to personal.

So how much of this Facebook use goes beyond personal?   We decided to launch a follow up study in September to find out.  Of all the small business owners surveyed, 83% indicated they promoted their business on Facebook.  The answers did not seem to vary widely based on company size.

While the majority of small business owners were testing the waters with Facebook, the pay off  doesn’t seem to be there yet with few companies indicating a significant percentage of their sales came from their Facebook activities.

Percent from Facebook 1

So why do they do it?   Why spend the time, if it isn’t paying off?

Here is what a few respondents said about their participation:

You don’t have to spend a lot of time to reach this audience. Don’t poo-poo it if you’re not a fan of Facebook… it doesn’t matter whether you like Facebook, it matters if your clients or prospects do!

It is essential that this tool is used! Educate your fans how to interact and SHARE your posts. The potential reach of even one post is in the thousands!

Over the next few weeks we will share more of the results from the study.  We are still collecting data.  If you are interested, share your opinion here