SMBs are driving Europe back to growth, and relying on social media to help them do it. Here’s how to put together a winning social strategy to reach them.

1. How SMBs in the UK are
embracing social media

2. Who did we survey?
456 Decision-Makers
in Small and Medium
Businesses (SMBs) in the UK
How are SMBs defined?
Businesses with:
• Less than 500 employees
• Less than £4M GBP
annual revenue
This report explores how Small and Medium Businesses
(SMBs) in the UK make use of social media.

3. SMBs in the UK are growing
…and are using Social Media

4. 70%
68%
have an increased number of
customers
have increased overall
revenue
have increased overall
profitability63%
4
SMBs in the UK are experiencing widespread year-on-year growth

5. HYPER-GROWTH
Significant increase in overall
revenue compared to last year
5
15% of SMBs report that they are
currently in a hyper-growth phase
15%
53%
32%
GROWTH
Increase in overall revenue
compared to last year
NON-GROWTH
No change or decrease in overall
revenue compared to last year

6. 6
Almost all SMBs surveyed use Social Media for their business…
93% of SMBs
are Current
Users of
Social Media
4% are Future
Users

7. 7
92%
80%
68%
43%
39%
17%
11%
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook YouTube Google+ Pinterest Instagram
and LinkedIn is the #1 Social Media site used by the companies
of the individual SMB professionals surveyed

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

9. 9
Lead generation and social media are cited
as the main contributors to SMB growth
39%
29%
41% 41%
17%
13%
7% 8%
Contributed to growth in
customer numbers
Contributed to growth in
overall revenue
Social media and social ads Lead Generation
Other online ads Offline ads

10. 10
Growing SMBs were significantly more likely to plan to increase
their Social Media spend in the next 12 months
63%
69%
53%
39%41% 39%
Increased Social Media
spend this year
Increased Lead generation
spend this year
Hyper-growth SMBs Growth SMBs Non-growth SMBs

11. 11
Top challenges currently faced by SMBs relate to generating
business, boosting profit margins and hiring
27%
30%
31%
32%
67%
Managing cash flow
Finding and hiring good employees
Marketing and advertising effectively
Increasing profit margins
Attracting new / retaining current customers

12. 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”
45%

13. SMBs are looking for financial
information on Social Media

14. 14
have used LinkedIn for
financial purposes
37%43%
are already using Social
Media for at least one
financial purpose

15. 15
SMBs can be reached on LinkedIn at each stage of
their decision making journey
2%
2%
8%
9%
10%
13%
19%
10%
20%
Purchased an insurance product
Opened a new financial account
Discussed a financial product / policy or account type
with a family member, friend, or colleague
Asked a financial professional for additional info about a
financial product / policy / account type
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 of
Awareness
Consideration
Purchase

16. 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
Peer ratings, reviews or
testimonials
6
Thought leadership
articles and stories
4
Expert ratings, reviews
or testimonials
5
Customer stories and
case studies

17. 17
Top Trending Topics among Manager+ in SMBs in the UK
3 month time-frame. LinkedIn: Feb 24th – May 24th
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
Get the Free B2B Content
Marketing Report
Six Secrets to Success at Work
– Jack Welch

18. 18
Customer service and reputation feature highly as factors to
consider when choosing a financial services company
Top 3
Consideration Factors
3. Brand and Reputation52%
2. Customer Service55%
1. Charges and Rates60%

19. Transparency and clarity as well as direct experience with a
provider, are key to increasing the confidence of SMBs
8%
66%
26%
Confidence in the Financial Service
industry in the past 12 months
Increased confidence
Stayed the same
Decreased confidence
13%
16%
20%
38%
50%
57%
63%
Visibility of employees
Press coverage
Conversations with friends / family / colleagues
Responding quickly to enquiries
Clear explanations of products and services
Personal experience dealing with a provider
Transparency of price and terms / conditions
Factors that would increase confidence in the Financial Service industry

20. Key findings Implications for marketers
Almost all SMBs in the UK 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

21. 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.