How SMBs in Europe are embracing social media

Who did we survey? 1,390 Decision-Makers in Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) in the U.K., NL, FR, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Norway, Sweden How are SMBs defined? Businesses with:

• Less than 500 employees • Less than €5M EUR (or

country currency equivalent) annual revenue

This report explores how Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) in Europe make use of social media.

SMBs in Europe are growing …and are using Social Media

69%

64%

have an increased number of customers

have increased overall revenue

have increased overall profitability 58%

4

SMBs in Europe are experiencing widespread year-on-year growth

HYPER-GROWTH Significant increase in overall

revenue compared to last year

5

14% of SMBs report that they are currently in a hyper-growth phase

14%

50%

36%

GROWTH Increase in overall revenue

compared to last year

NON-GROWTH No change or decrease in overall

revenue compared to last year

6

Almost all SMBs surveyed use Social Media for their business…

91% of SMBs are Current

Users of Social Media

5% are Future Users

7

91%

66% 63%

43% 35%

15% 14%

LinkedIn Twitter Facebook YouTube Google+ Instagram Pinterest

and LinkedIn is the #1 Social Media site used by the companies of the individual SMB professionals surveyed

SMBs see Social Media as a key way to meet their business challenges

9

SMBs were 2X as likely to report that Social Media and social ads contributed to customer growth, compared to other online ads

35%

25%

17% 14%

7% 7%

Contributed to growth incustomer numbers

Contributed to growth inoverall revenue

Social media and social ads

Other online ads

Offline ads

10

Growing SMBs were significantly more likely to plan to increase their Social Media spend in the next 12 months

53% 51% 47%

42%

Increased Social Mediaspend this year

Plan to increase Social Mediaspend next year

Growth SMBs

Non-growth SMBs

3 in 4 of all SMBs that increased social media spend this year, planned to increase spend again next year

11

Top challenges currently faced by SMBs relate to generating business, boosting profit margins and hiring

22%

30%

30%

31%

66%

Managing cash flow

Finding and hiring good employees

Increasing profit margins

Marketing and advertising effectively

Attracting new / retaining current customers

12

Social media is helping SMBs overcome some of their key challenges

“Social media is important for retaining/getting new

customers”

“Social media is important for marketing my company”

79%

68%

Social media helps my

company source and hire new employees

56%

SMBs are looking for financial information on Social Media

14

have used LinkedIn for financial purposes

40% 44% are already using Social Media for at least one financial purpose

15

SMBs can be reached at each stage of their decision making journey on LinkedIn

2%

2%

7%

8%

10%

12%

22%

12%

19%

Purchased an investment product

Purchased an insurance product

Asked a financial professional for additional info about afinancial product / policy / account type

Discussed a financial product / policy or account typewith a family member, friend, or colleague

Contacted a financial representative

Conducted additional research on a financial product

Shared info about financial trends/products/companies

Learned of a financial product was not aware of

Learned about a financial company was not aware ofAwareness

Consideration

Purchase

SMBs will be most engaged by do-it-yourself content, as well as innovation news and peer or expert reviews

16

Top 6 Impactful Types of Financial services Content

1

Best practices, How-To-guides and

checklists

2

New innovation and technology developments

3

Expert ratings, reviews or testimonials

6

Market and economic commentary

4

Customer stories and case studies

5

Peer ratings, reviews or testimonials

17

Top Trending Topics among Manager+ in SMBs in Europe

10 real-world tips for building relationships and closing more on LinkedIn

Recruitment Success Kit: 15 tips for 2015

Make it Matter – Security, Mobility, Cloud, Big Data Solutions

Warren Buffett Just Wrote His Best Annual Letter Ever – Bill Gates

Why you should hire a French person

Six Secrets to Success at Work – Jack Welch

3 month time-frame. LinkedIn: Feb 24th – May 24th

18

Customer service and reputation feature highly as factors to consider when choosing a financial services company

Top 3 Consideration Factors

3. Brand & Reputation 48%

2. Customer Service 54%

1. Charges and rates 57%

Transparency and clarity as well as direct experience with a provider, are key to increasing the confidence of SMBs

6%

62%

31%

Confidence in the Financial Service industry in the past 12 months

Increased confidenceStayed the sameDecreased confidence

12%

12%

19%

37%

48%

53%

66%

Visibility of employees

Press coverage

Conversations with friends / family / colleagues

Responding quickly to enquiries

Personal experience dealing with a provider

Clear explanations of products and services

Transparency of price and terms / conditions

Factors that would increase confidence in the Financial Service industry

Key findings Implications for marketers

Almost all SMBs in Europe use social media

An active presence on LinkedIn is crucial for successful marketing and customer acquisition

SMBs can be reached on LinkedIn at each stage of their financial decision making journey

Tap into vast pools of potential customers by providing them an avenue to share information about your brand and products

Clear content related to financial products and services and better customer service are things SMBs look for in financial service brands

Use LinkedIn to disseminate information about financial products and services, customer service and to build confidence

1

2

3

Key findings Implications for marketers

Almost all SMBs in France use social media

An active presence on LinkedIn is crucial for successful marketing and customer acquisition

Tap into vast pools of potential customers by providing them an avenue to share information about your brand and products

Use LinkedIn to disseminate information about financial products and services, customer service, and to build confidence

Contact us at https://lnkd.in/contact_us.