For Small Businesses, Facebook Leads The Pack

article reposted from Gaebler.com, an entrepreneurial resource we highly recommend.
Written by Resources for Entrepreneurs Staff
Published: 6/24/2011

"Small business owners are using Facebook, LinkedIn, and industry-specific networks most when utilizing social media.

Facebook is the social networking site most often used by the small business owners polled in the 2011 U.S. Bank Small Business Annual Survey released June 22.

Of the respondents who use social media in their businesses, nearly three-quarters said they utilize Facebook, followed by LinkedIn (57 percent), industry-specific communities (26 percent) and Twitter (23 percent).

The total number of respondents who said they use social media went up from 32 percent in 2010 to 39 percent in this year's survey. Among 11 regions considered individually in the survey, Washington state had the highest usage, at 45 percent. At 35 percent, Arizona had the lowest usage.

This breakdown coincides with a recent Zoomerang survey showing social media adoption by small businesses is more robust on the West Coast than in the Intermountain West region where Arizona is.

However, according to the Zoomerang survey, only 29 percent of West Coast businesses have a presence on a social media site, whereas the U.S. Bank survey not only shows a high rate of usage in Washington state, but 44 percent usage in Oregon and Southern California.

In related small business technology news, both Roost and VerticalResponse have recently released tools to help small businesses better use networking sites to connect with customers."

Where do you fit into the mix? What Social Media have you explored for your business, and which have you found the most effective to leverage?