Chris Hondros
Source: www.insideradio.com, October 2023

Note to radio advertising executives: small and medium-sized businesses could use your help when it comes to digital media.

In preparation for the holiday season, SMBs are showing a greater focus on social media as a means of boosting customer engagement and web traffic, to a point where most are seeking resources and information from e-commerce experts. That’s a key finding from Verizon’s fourth annual “State of Small Business” survey, conducted in partnership with business intelligence company Morning Consult among nearly 700 small or midsize business owners last August.

The results, as reported by MediaPost, show three in four such businesses (77%) currently use or plan to use social media marketing to increase customer engagement and online traffic. To help get them up to speed, 69% say access to courses or available programs outside of office hours would be helpful, and 61% agree that speaking with e-commerce experts who are well-versed in establishing digital presence and branding would also be beneficial.

“As small to midsize businesses prepare for a dynamic holiday retail season, [they] are demonstrating a pressing need for expertise in social media marketing to enhance their business presence and customer engagement – embracing technology to address labor challenges and remote collaboration, and finding resources and expertise to enhance their digital presence,” Verizon’s report says. “In the face of uncertainty, they are demonstrating their ability to adjust, innovate, and explore new avenues for growth and efficiency.”

With digital media services and third-party digital advertising on their menus, radio ad sellers are more than qualified to provide this expertise. RAB and Borrell Associates’ benchmarking report released earlier this year estimated $2 billion in digital sales for radio in 2023, up from $1.8 billion last year, when digital sales accounted for nearly one in five radio industry ad dollars.

Verizon’s survey results show Meta’s Facebook as the leading small business social media platform, with close to half of SMBs saying they either began using or increased usage there in the past year, to promote products and connect with customers. Instagram, also owned by Meta, places second with 39% of businesses using it, with LinkedIn at 27% and both TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) at 25%.