Small Businesses Doubling Down on Social Media Efforts

Your employees may finally have a good excuse to be on Facebook during work hours.

More than 25% of small business owners plan to invest more in social media strategies and online marketing this quarter, according to a Manta survey of more than 1,200 companies.

And social media involvement is already up over last year: 50% of small business owners say they are spending more time on social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter in order to grow their businesses. While 10% spend more than 10 hours a week on social media alone.

Why all the fuss? Almost 40% of business owners say they already see a return on their investment when it comes to social media, with 30% actually earning over $2,000 from their efforts.

So which sites are the most challenging to maintain for SMBs? Facebook comes first, with nearly one-fifth saying they struggle to keep up with it, and LinkedIn follows, with 10% finding it difficult to stay up-to-date.