SurePayroll Scorecard: 35 Percent of Small Businesses Turn to Social Media for Advertising

On Apr 23, 2015

More than one in three small businesses are spending on social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to advertise their products and services, according to the April 2015 SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard.

The Scorecard features survey data with insights from small and microbusiness owners, primarily those with 1-10 employees. SurePayroll Inc. is a leader in providing online payroll to small businesses nationwide since 2000.

Facebook, LinkedIn Most Used for Social Advertising Among Small Businesses

Facebook is the leading social ad platform for small business owners, according to the SurePayroll survey, with 33 percent paying for ads through the social network. More than half (58 percent) of small business owners said they see value in advertising on Facebook.

Small businesses advertise on the major social media platforms by the following percentages:

Facebook – 33 percent
LinkedIn – 26 percent
Twitter – 17 percent
Instagram – 6.2 percent
Pinterest – 2.6 percent

Why Social Advertising?

By comparison, only 14 percent of small businesses with 1-10 employees are spending on Google pay-per-click ads, the SurePayroll survey found.

“Social media advertising allows small businesses to spread the word about their products to a large, targeted audience at a relatively low cost,” said SurePayroll General Manager Andy Roe. “I think there was a time when small business owners weren’t sure if advertising on a Facebook or Twitter was worth a piece of their budget. But it seems there’s just too many potential customers engaged with social media to ignore.

“It’s also become harder to have your content seen organically, so you have to pay to play a little bit and a good portion of small business owners are saying, ‘Okay, it’s worth it for us to spend the money.’”

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