By Aimee Chanthadavong
As consumers become more tech savvy and the hype around social media grows, the latest MYOB Business Monitor indicates that Australian businesses are far from embracing the trend.
The Monitor shows only 35 per cent of Australian businesses have a website and only 18 per cent of business owners surveyed use social media like Facebook, YouTube, MySpace or Twitter to promote their business. And fewer (13 per cent) write online newsletters or blogs to promote their business
Julian Smith, MYOB general manager, told Retailbiz that social media, including having a website, is always the least of concerns for business owners.
“The reality is the vast majority have access to the internet but the number one thing the internet is for is online banking and paying bills which is then followed by having a website,” he said.
“A reason for that a majority of businesses are sole traders or small employers and often their focus is running their business and not marketing or promoting their business. They also don’t often have the capacity to hire a marketing manger for their business.”
The most likely users of social media, however, at present are business owners in retail and hospitality (22 per cent).
“The good news is that retailers are one of the best sectors that promote their business using social media,” Smith said. “What’s particular about retailers is the way they use it and what they use their website for. In terms of using their website, it’s used as an ecommerce, as a leverage channel for selling their products.”
According to Smith, it’s necessary to leverage the power of the internet as there is a strong correlation between those that own a website and earning greater profits.
“[In the survey] we asked business owners their revenue expectations for the coming year and we found that 47 per cent expect a revenue increase. But when we broke it down to compare a business with a website to a business without a website; businesses with a website expected a 52 per cent revenue increase in the next 12 months, while those without a website only expected a 43 per cent revenue increase.”
However, Smith also noted that engaging in social media is not just about earning a profit but also creating a relationship with customers.
“It’s an opportunity to engage with clients, knowing what’s important to them and it’s a way to listen to their conversations, as well as to be able to contribute to that conversation,” he said.
The research also found that business owners in South Australia (27 per cent) and business owners who are 18-39 years of age (24 per cent) are also more likely use social media. Additionally, regional businesses were more likely (41 per cent) to have a website than city based businesses (35 per cent).