Over four-fifths (81%) of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) use social media to drive business growth, and an additional 9% are planning to use it in the future, according to a recent report from LinkedIn and TNS.

Of the SMBs already using social media, 94% use it for marketing, and nearly half also use it for learning/deriving business insights.

Overall, SMBs seem fairly bullish on social media: 60% say it helps to gain new customers, and 56% increased spend in the past year.

Below, additional key findings from the report, which was based on data from from a survey of 998 SMB owners/decision-makers. All the businesses are based in North America and have revenues between $1 million and $50 million.

Content 

• The analysis found the top articles viewed by small business owners on LinkedIn are about business leadership and marketing.
• 79% of SMB owners surveyed consider industry-specific news/articles to be most valuable type of social media content.
• Testimonials from clients/customers and industry experts are also highly valued.

Finance

• Over two-thirds of SMBs use social media for finance-related reasons, including staying current with financial trends, gathering preliminary information about financial products/companies, and seeking information for financial decisions.
• 29% of respondents say they cannot find the finance-related best-practices, how-to guides, and checklists they want on social media.

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