Another update from our 2012 Small Business Social Media Survey

In years past we asked participants to identify their primary network. We have seen a growing indication that people are separating their business and personal activies online.

To measure the separation, whis year, we  asked participants to identify what they considered their primary network for both business and personal use.

As you might expect, Facebook ranks highest for personal use, while LinkedIn clearly dominates business applications.

Business and PersonalWhile Facebook is the most dominant personal network, we noticed some interesting patterns when we examined the data in detail.  The choice of a primary business network seemed to have a relationship with the primary social network.

Facebook for Business

92% of the respondents who indicated Facebook was their primary business network indicated it was their primary social network as well.

Twitter for Business

In contrast Twitter users are not necessarily as loyal. While they recognize the business benefits of Twitter, 33% of the respondents switch to Facebook when it comes to keeping up with friends and family members.

Linkedin for Business

Companies which rely on LinkedIn for their business connections are less predictable when it comes to their personal interactions. While Facebook dominates, 18% of respondents indicated Twitter, LinkedIn or other networks were their primary social platforms.

 

Chart11 between personal and business

 

Advice for Beginners:

  • Use Facebook to share stories and Twitter to connect and share ideas.  Google+ is not there yet and Linkedin is great for finding who you need to know out there.

What They Will Change This Year: :

  • Scaled back effort to grow Facebook page outside of current relationships.  We don’t have a brand that people will “like” unless they’ve used us
  • Convert from personal to business and start LinkedIn and Google+ accounts
The full survey will be available later this week.  Reserve your copy now:
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