Jul 30, 2013

Small Businesses Underutilizing Social Media & Lax About Security Concerns

NewtekOne today announced the findings of its SB Authority Market Sentiment Survey, a monthly window into the concerns of independent business owners. Based on a poll of over 2,000 respondents, one of the key findings from the July survey is 57% of business have a Twitter or Facebook account. The findings from last year compared to this year show 10% more business owners are using social media. Additionally, only 30% of those polled are concerned about Twitter or Facebook using their clients' data. The full July 2013 results showed the following:

Poll Question	Poll Answer	2013 Percentage
Does your business have a Twitter or Facebook account?	Yes	57%
	No	43%
Are you concerned about Twitter or Facebook using your client data?	Yes	30%
	No	70%

Barry Sloane, Chairman, President and CEO of The Small Business Authority^® commented, "Our poll recognizes that not only do small businesses underutilize a great marketing tool in social media, most do not worry about the risks or trade off inherent in social media. We do see a year-over-year increase in total utilization of social media by 10%.This is a good trend for small business, however we are amazed that, while consumers are outraged at the concept of the federal government having access to personal phone and internet data, businesses and consumers regularly share their most sensitive information such as customer lists and other data with Google, Facebook and Apple while using "free" social media services. Further education in the use of these tools should broaden their usage and educate independent business owners about its positives and negatives."