Survey Says: Half Of Canadian Business Believe Social Media Will Help Drive Profits

BY: 

Dave Forde
March 20, 2012

BMO Financial Group released a the results of a new survey today that was conducted by Leger Marketing, which looks at the correlation between social media and small businesses. Surprisingly only 29 per cent of Canadian small business owners are taking advantage of social media tools such as podcasts and Facebook.

BMO Social Media/ Small Business Survey

  • Promoting their company’s brand or reputation (64 per cent)
  • Providing broader access to consumers (63 per cent)
  • Encouraging word of mouth endorsements and referrals (62 per cent)
  • Selling products or services (46 per cent)
  • Gathering ideas/suggestions (42 per cent)

The top reasons business owners cited for not using social media are:

  • They don’t think it is a valuable tool (29 per cent)
  • They lack knowledge about social media (19 per cent)

“Social media, while still a relatively new communication and marketing channel, is definitely here to stay. We anticipate it playing an increasingly important role for Canadian businesses, as they look for cost effective ways to open new markets and broaden and deepen their connection with customers,” said Cathy Pin, Vice President, Commercial Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal. “Our customers are also telling us they value opportunities to interact with other businesses, network online and share insights and experiences. That’s why we recently launched a new online community for business owners,” added Ms. Pin.

The survey also reveals that Facebook is the most popular choice at 70 per cent, followed by LinkedIn (32 per cent), and Twitter (31 per cent).

Pritesh Gandhi, Senior Manager, Digital Marketing & Strategy, BMO Bank of Montreal, notes that social media tools have become more advanced over the past five years, and offer various benefits to business owners. “While the most popular application is Facebook, there are other networks and tools that can offer benefits to businesses. For instance, LinkedIn is very effective in building and maintaining contacts for recruitment and knowledge sharing purposes, while the effective use of Twitter can help to keep the dialogue open with your customers and respond to queries in real time.” Mr. Gandhi adds that “BMO has increased their social media presence over the past year by actively using Twitter for everything from customer feedback and service issues to generating awareness of the new product or service launches.”

On average, Canadian businesses owners surveyed say that 28 per cent of their marketing efforts are focused online as opposed to traditional media channels. Those who believe social media can increase their profitability are also more likely to devote a higher percentage of their marketing efforts online on average, compared to those who do not believe it will help the bottom line (34 per cent vs. 22 per cent).

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Dave Forde


Dave “The Connector” Forde has been involved in the marketing, public relations and technology industry across Canada for over 20 years in various sales and marketing roles, he launched The Connected One network of business sites which connects buyers to the right sellers. Profectio and PR In Canada covers news about the marketing and public relations industry each day helping professionals advance their career and businesses. He also serves as an advisor to a number of businesses across the country. Find Dave on LinkedIn and Twitter.


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