Recent (Sept 10) AUSTRALIAN research report, prepared by Stancombe Research and Planning on behalf of Optus Small and Medium Business and COSBOA, provides an overview of how small to medium businesses view and use social media.

1. We’re right behind business.
OPTUS BUSINESS SOCIAL MEDIA INDEX.
AN INTRODUCTION TO
SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SMALL
AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES.
PART 1 OF 3

2. 2
CONTENTS
SECTION 01:
Introduction: Rohan Ganeson, Managing Director, Optus Small and Medium Buisness 01
A peak perspective: Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia (COSBOA) 03
Executive summary 04
Methodology 06
Qualitative findings 07
THE SURVEY RESULTS 09
What influences social media decision making? 10
Social media decision makers are older, more senior 10
Most small and medium businesses are inactive in social media 13
Younger social media decision makers lead the way 14
Social media activity is consistent across states and territories 16
Metropolitan businesses have a slight edge in social media take-up 17
Services businesses more keen on social media than goods-producing businesses 18
Leading social media business sectors rely on communities 20
Social media activity by business size 22
Developing a social media strategy 23

3. Social media tools such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn are redefining the
way individuals and businesses interact. Businesses are relying less on the traditional
approach of broadcasting messages to a largely passive audience and instead are
working harder to have conversations with individuals and communities of interest.
With the growing pervasiveness of technology in our day-to-day lives, Australian
consumers and businesses are more inquisitive and knowledgeable than they have
ever been before; they now expect businesses to engage with them online rather than
through traditional channels.
The research found that among active users of social media, more than three-quarters
of respondents identify a business profile as the entry point for social media. Businesses
are also conscious to manage their reputation online, with many responding to posts
online and reading what is written about them on a regular basis.
However, a range of factors are impeding the take-up of social media by small and
medium businesses. For example, many social media decision makers tend to be less
tech-savvy than other staff within the business. Other factors include the confusing
diversity of applications available and the lack of a proven business case.
In conjunction with COSBOA, Optus commissioned leading market research firm
Stancombe Research and Planning to analyse the current and intended use of social
media by Australian small and medium businesses. Stancombe Research and Planning
completed its qualitative and quantitative analysis in the second quarter of 2010.
We have prepared this report to help Australian small and medium businesses
understand the opportunities, challenges and pitfalls of social media. The report also
provides an indication of the maturity of this ever-growing tool.
Our aim is to provide businesses with practical information they can use to develop
sustainable social media strategies. The research report can be downloaded in three
parts, at www.bizthinktank.com.au/socialmedia courtesy of Optus.
If you would like to discuss any of the findings of this research, or to share your social
media experiences with us, please email me at rohan.ganeson.mdsmb@optus.com.au
For any questions about our products and services, or to see the great work we’re doing
on Twitter, follow us at www.twitter.com/optus
Rohan Ganeson
Managing Director
Optus Small & Medium Business
ROHAN GANESON MANAGING
DIRECTOR, OPTUS SMALL AND
MEDIUM BUSINESS.
Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
01
INTRODUCTION

4. “AUSTRALIAN
CONSUMERS AND
BUSINESSES ARE
MORE INQUISITIVE
KNOWLEDGEABLE,
AND EXPECT
BUSINESSES
TO ENGAGE WITH
THEM ONLINE.”
Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
02
A PEAK PERSPECTIVE

5. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
03
A PEAK PERSPECTIVE
COUNCIL OF SMALL
BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS
OF AUSTRALIA (COSBOA).
Small businesses are the great business innovators in any economy. They are also
a group that sometimes holds onto past successes and glories and are hard to budge.
We are a diverse group and this research supports the fact that while we have been
accessing social media in growing numbers we still have some way to go to get the
greater benefit from this ever growing phenomenon.
Social media has taken off among young people, and among young business operators,
and is now a focus of advertising and marketing companies as they attempt to get bigger
shares of the various market places that exist in the real and online worlds. The best
attribute of social networking is that it is one of the few level playing fields that exist
in the world of business. This applies equally to retail and hospitality, hairdressers, IT
consultants, transport, real estate and many other industry sectors. The bigger players
will find it more difficult to compete with the personalities of the people that run small
business. Big business may compete on price but they can never compete on interest
and innovation. A big business doesn’t have a personality, a small business does.
This research from Optus provides the information needed by small businesses
to start, or to continue with their use of social media for business enhancement.
The research should also influence the opinion of policy makers who need to ensure
that there remains ease of access to the internet for all businesses and that no barriers
should be placed in the way of the most innovative, and personable, part of the
Australian business community. A small business is really akin to a person and that
will always be reflected through social media.
Congratulations to Optus on this report and thanks to all the small businesses who
participated. I for one will be using Facebook and Twitter a lot more in the running of
my bookshop and in my role with COSBOA. Follow me on Twitter at @COSBOA
Peter Strong
Executive Director
COSBOA

6. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
04
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Social media enables individuals and
businesses to communicate, create and
share content over the Internet. To reap
the full benefits of social media, users
are required to start a conversation and
communicate with each other rather
than broadcast messages one way to a
largely passive audience. However, the
diversity of tools and applications—and
thepaceofchange—canbebewilderingto
time-constrained owners and employees
of small and medium businesses.
Nevertheless, harnessing social media
can yield a range of benefits. This
research report, prepared by Stancombe
Research and Planning on behalf of
Optus Small and Medium Business and
COSBOA, provides an overview of how
small to medium businesses view and
use social media.
According to this research, younger people
are the primary drivers of social media
activity in small and medium businesses.
This comes as no surprise, since younger
people typically lead the adoption of
social media in the wider community.
Yet the ultimate decision makers regarding
social media at most small and medium
businesses tend to be over 40 years of
age and own or are in a senior role at the
business. While the link between age and
social media take-up is not definitive
(the level of technological awareness also
plays its part), this does partly explain
why most businesses in this segment
do not currently use social media.
While social media activity does not
vary by geography (city versus regional)
or business size (within the small and
medium business category), services
organisations are far ahead of their
goods-producing counterparts.
Accommodation and catering, marketing
and media, and cultural and recreational
services businesses lead the way in the
use of social media.
Business activity is concentrated around
Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn,
with Facebook, unsurprisingly, clearly
dominant. Facebook’s format—and its
familiarity to most people from their
personal use—drives businesses to
create a profile as entry points into social
media activity.
Nearly half of the small and medium
businesses active in social media sell
products and services using this format.
The research also found that companies
typically spend very little of their overall
budget on marketing within social media.
This indicates these budgets are likely
to be a peripheral part of the overall
marketing strategy for most small and
medium businesses.
Those businesses that use social media
tend to invest, on average, 6.6 hours per
week on the format. However, those that
are planning to get involved expect to
spend about half this time—around three
hours—doing so. This indicates that many
small and medium businesses are unaware
of the time required to regularly monitor
and manage a social media presence.
Small and medium businesses planning
to become involved in social media
primarily see it as a tool to drive sales
through acquisition and retention.
However, those already active in social
media perceive the main benefits in
networking and building relationships
with customers. If businesses planning
to get involved better understood these
latter benefits, social media would be
more compelling to them.
The differences between businesses
currently using social media and those
that plan to in the future are echoed in
the metrics they use to determine
success. Small and medium businesses
already active in social media are more
likely to focus on quantitative metrics
such as number of followers, fans or
friends, whereas those looking to adopt
social media are more interested in the
quality of fans or followers around
their brand.
Companies that do not plan to be involved
in social media most often say the format
is inappropriate for their industry or
business, citing irrelevance to their
target market as a key reason. In many
cases, they link this back to their
customers’ limited or negligible use
of social media.
The researchers also found that small
and medium businesses have taken up
social media at a gradual, steady rate
over the past few years. They expect this
to continue in similar fashion, with the
time spent using social media also likely
to increase. This growth is expected to
focus on the Big Four, with YouTube,
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn benefiting
the most. However, Twitter is a special
case: active users are enthusiastic, but
those not yet using social media shy away
from it. This reflects Twitter’s use and
perception among its consumer market.
It should be noted that, small and
medium businesses are less aware of
LinkedIn, but use it more regularly for
business activity.
The research also found Google and
personal networks are the primary means
of finding out more information. Only a
minority turn to external agencies—pointing
to an unwillingness to pay for advice.
Small and medium businesses can benefit
greatly from using social media. Many
social networking sites, such as LinkedIn
and Facebook, offer opportunities to join
specific groups where users can interact
with others who share their interests.
Social media applications offer endless
ways of achieving real business benefits,
including winning new customers,
building relationships with existing
customers, communicating with all
business stakeholders in an open format,
building brand reputation and opening
new revenue streams.
The low cost entry point to social media
levels the playing field when it comes to
branding and networking. However, while
the opportunities with social media are
plentiful, it is important to have a strategy
in place, with key objectives and metrics,
to ensure results meet expectations.

7. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
05
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
“TO REAP THE FULL
BENEFITS OF SOCIAL
MEDIA, USERS ARE
REQUIRED TO START
A CONVERSATION
AND COMMUNICATE
WITH EACH OTHER
RATHER THAN
BROADCAST
MESSAGES ONE
WAY TO A LARGELY
PASSIVE AUDIENCE.”

8. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
Market research firm Stancombe
Research and Planning conducted
qualitative and quantitative research into
Australian small and medium
businesses’ use of social media.
The qualitative research comprised three
interviews with key social media opinion
leaders, and five breakfast discussion
groups of six to eight people, who were
employees and owners of small and
medium businesses.
The quantitative component was based
on interviews with 340 Australian small
and medium business employees
responsible for social media decision
making within their organisation. See
Appendix A for a detailed demographic
breakdown of the survey respondents.
SOCIAL MEDIA ADVOCATES IN THE SMALL AND
MEDIUM BUSINESS COMMUNITY BELIEVE THAT
TRADITIONAL ONE-WAY BROADCAST
COMMUNICATION MODELS ARE LOSING GROUND TO
A DIALOGUE-BASED MODEL, DRIVEN BY INQUISITIVE
AND KNOWLEDGEABLE CONSUMERS WHO WANT
TO DISCOVER THINGS AND NOT BE ‘SOLD TO’.
06
METHODOLOGY

9. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
The qualitative research found that social
media is presently a digital ‘wild west’.
Those small and medium businesses
involved in social media are pioneers,
constantly experimenting, discovering
andlearningnewwaystousethemedium.
Key opinion leaders engaged in social media
believe it is here to stay, for two reasons:
– Social media is simply facilitating what
human beings have always done:
socialise and network
– Social media is past the tipping point
and is now ubiquitous, particularly
among younger generations.
However, most small businesses are still
learning and experimenting. See Figure 1.
Other businesses are holding back until
a clear business case emerges. They
typically cannot identify a return on
investment as they are unsure whether
social media suits their business or they
lack the time or inclination to deal with
social media themselves.
One solution to this lack of time would be
to find someone external to manage their
social media presence. However, small and
medium businesses are reluctant to
outsource the personal voice of their brand
as they feel they are best placed to
communicate their own value proposition.
As the business case for social media
becomes more compelling, the need to
outsource elements such as content creation,
monitoring and measuring also increases.
Social media advocates in the small and
medium business community believe that
traditional one-way broadcast
communication models are losing ground
to a dialogue-based model, driven by
inquisitive and knowledgeable consumers
who want to discover things and not be
‘sold to’. The scalability and low cost of
social media make it an attractive
proposition for small and medium
businesses, prompting many to
experiment with the format.
However, social media tools and sites are
currently confusing due to the diversity
of functions that can be delivered and the
vast range of social media applications
available. These include customer
relationship management, direct marketing
and public relations. This presents small
and medium business decision makers
with a range of difficult questions, such as:
– What should my objective be?
– What tools are available and what
should I use?
– What skills do I need?
– How do we measure return on investment?
The drivers for businesses to become
involved in social media are both rational
and emotional.
Rational factors include:
– It’s free
– It’s easily scalable
– It can improve search engine rankings
– It provides instant customer feedback
– Media companies and website
developers are likely to promote it
The emotional factors include the hype
around social media, the need to keep up
with competitors and the ability to use
it individually.
Social media adoption is heavily
influenced by business type. Business-
to-business industries most often have
limited use for social media due to their
niche markets. On the other hand,
business-to-consumer industries need
to communicate to a widespread
audience, which means they tend
to pioneer the use of new technologies.
The extent to which decision makers are
tech-savvy also plays a role. Those with
less technical knowledge tend to be
older, but this is not always the case.
People at this end of the spectrum tend
to resist social media in their personal
lives, but are happy to use it for business
purposes if it will make them money or
if they can see a clear business benefit.
They are also not particularly curious
about new social media tools and
developments.
At the other end of the spectrum are
those that are tech-savvy. This group
is made up of typically younger people
who have embraced social media in their
personal lives and are happy to sell its
uses internally and externally. They also
constantly seek out information on new
social media tools and developments.
Leaders in social media tend to be
marketers with an interest in IT.
Figure 1: Most SMBs are still experimenting and learning.
Experimenting and learning
Will start with someone
experimenting with a blog,
Facebook page, Twitter
account etc. with almost
$0 budget. Learning happens
fast with direct feedback
from customers
Success measurement
Sales might start to improve
and/or more people begin
to sign up to social media
initiatives, begin to follow
and engage with content.
As momentum gathers, the
business starts benchmarking
success, e.g. how many
re-tweets did I get today?
Commitment grows
As digital communication commitment
starts to grow the business will start to
consider hiring someone full-time and/
or using a 3rd party
Senior Management in medium sized
businesses will start to endorse social
media initiatives once success is achieved
SUCCESS/RESULTS
LESS THAN 12 MONTHS 1–3 YEARS 3 YEARS +
07
QUALITATIVE FINDINGS

10. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
In a small business, the decision maker
tends to be:
– 25 to 50 years old
– the owner-operator, partner or senior
business development manager
This person may or may not have good
technical knowledge.
In a medium-sized business, the decision
maker tends to be:
– in their mid-20s to late-30s
– from a sales and marketing background
– mostly working autonomously within
the business
– possibly a digital marketing or
communication manager
– self-determined and constantly
pushing the benefits of social media
internally
– skewed towards the more tech-savvy
end of the spectrum
– an early adopter of technology
Most small and medium businesses are
familiar with Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube
and Twitter. The more tech-savvy users
are linking these tools together (for
example, using Twitter to promote a
new YouTube video). They are also aware
of tools such as photo-sharing, blogging,
mapping and news-sharing sites.
They expect some market consolidation
to occur, with several social media tools
outside the market leaders such as
Facebook and Twitter likely to disappear.
This presents a barrier to up-take outside
that leadership community.
There is an overwhelming number of social media tools, not all of which small and medium businesses are engaging with. These can
be grouped into the following categories.
Figure 2: Social media tools are grouped based on the function they perform
SOCIAL
NETWORKING
VIDEO SHARING PHOTO SHARING
RADIO/ MUSIC
SHARING
SOCIAL
BOOKMARKING
BLOGGING
FORUMS/
REVIEW SITES
MAPS/
GEO-TAGGING
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
MySpace
YouTube
Vimeo
Justin.tv
Ustream.tv
Flickr
Photobucket
Picasa
MySpace
Last.fm
Blip.fm
Inthemix
Delicious
StumbleUpon
Digg
Reddit
Blogger
WordPress
Twitter
Tumblr
MacTalk
Eatability
Tripadvisor
GoogleMaps
Foursquare
WhereIs
TrueLocal
Different industries gravitate to different social media tools, as per the table below. Social networking appears to be the most
widely used.
Figure 3: Different industries gravitate towards different social media tools
GOVERNMENT RETAIL HOSPITALITY MANUFACTURING
Social networking ✔✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔✔
(mostly LinkedIn)
Video sharing ✔✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔ ✔✔
Photo sharing ✔✔✔ ✔ ✔✔✔ ✖
Blogging ✔✔✔ ✔✔ ✔✔ ✔
Forums/review sites ✔ ✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔
Radio/music sharing ✔/✖ ✖ ✔/✖ ✖
Social bookmarking ✔/✖ ✔/✖ ✔/✖ ✔/✖
Different social media tools perform different marketing functions, as shown in the table below.
Figure 4: Different social media tools perform different marketing functions
BRAND
BUILDING
PR
GOOGLE
RANKINGS
NETWORKING CRM DM
COMPLAINTS
RESOLUTION
Social networking ✔✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔ ✔✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔✔✔
Video sharing ✔✔✔ ✔✔ ✔✔ ✔/✖ ✔/✖ ✔ ✖
Photo sharing ✔✔✔ ✔✔ ✔✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✖
Blogging ✔✔✔ ✔✔ ✔✔ ✔✔ ✔✔ ✔ ✔✔
Forums/review sites ✔✔ ✔✔ ✔✔ ✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔ ✔✔✔
Radio/music sharing ✔ ✔✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✖
Social bookmarking ✔ ✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✖ ✖ ✖
08
QUALITATIVE FINDINGS
✔✔✔ Used heavily | ✔✔ Used moderately | ✔ Used lightly | ✔/✖ Relevant, but rarely used | ✖ Irrelevant, not being used

11. 09
THE SURVEY RESULTS
Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
THE SURVEY
RESULTS

12. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
SOCIAL MEDIA DECISION
MAKERS ARE OLDER,
MORE SENIOR
Social media decision makers tend
to be in a more senior role and aged over
40 years old.
While the directors of small and medium
business are the largest single group of
decision makers, they are still less than
one-third (29 per cent) of the total.
Other key decision makers include the
proprietor and general management,
while marketing managers and marketing
directors account for only 12 per cent.
Just over 60 per cent of decision makers
are aged 40 or over, while just over one-third
are aged 25–39.
In medium businesses, social media
decision making is likely to rest with
a less senior role—in many cases, that
of marketing manager.
FIGURE 5:
SURVEY RESPONDENTS BY AGE.
1% Under 21
4% 21-24
19% 25-34
16% 35-39
25% 40-49
27% 50-59
9% 60 or older
10
THE SURVEY RESULTS
WHAT INFLUENCES SOCIAL MEDIA
DECISION MAKING?
1%
4%
19%
16%
25%
27%
9%

13. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
FIGURE 6:
SURVEY RESPONDENTS BY JOB TITLE.
29% Director
21% Proprietor
21% General Management
17% Other
9% Marketing Manager
3% Marketing Director
29%
21% 21%
17%
9%
3%
11
THE SURVEY RESULTS

14. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
12
THE SURVEY RESULTS
FIGURE 7:
JOB TITLES OF RESPONDENTS
BY BUSINESS SIZE.
Q: WHAT IS YOUR ROLE OR FUNCTIONAL
AREA WITHIN THE BUSINESS?
Small business
Medium business
01 Director
02 Proprietor
03 General Management
04 Other
05 Marketing Manager
06 Marketing Director
07 Sales
08 IT/Technology
09 Marketing Executive
Base: Small business (248); Medium business (92). 01 0502 0603 0704 08 09
33%
27%
20%
23%
10%
23%
25%
20%
5%
1%1%1%1%1%1%
2%
4%4%

15. 13
SECTION HEADING
Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
13
THE SURVEY RESULTS
MOST SMALL AND MEDIUM
BUSINESSES ARE INACTIVE
IN SOCIAL MEDIA
Most small and medium businesses
(56 per cent*) do not use social media,
nor have any near-term plans to start.
More than one-quarter (28 per cent)
are actively using social media, while
a further 16 per cent are planning to start
using social media in the next 12 months.
This indicates a large share of decision
makers in small and medium businesses
are yet to be convinced that it is worth
investing valuable time and resources
in social media.
FIGURE 8:
SURVEY RESPONDENTS’ CURRENT AND
PLANNED USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA.
Q: WHICH STATEMENT BEST DESCRIBES
YOUR BUSINESS’S CURRENT ATTITUDE
TO SOCIAL MEDIA OR NETWORKING?
Actives
526,400 SMBs already using
social media*
Actives soon
Another 300,800 SMBs planning
to engage with social media within
12 months*
Inactives
1,052,800 with no current plans
to get involved*
28% Currently active
9% Planning to be active in the next
0-6 months
7% Planning to be active in the next
6-12 months
56% Inactive
*Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
Base: Total sample (340).
28%
9%
7%
56%

16. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
14
THE SURVEY RESULTS
YOUNGER SOCIAL MEDIA
DECISION MAKERS LEAD
THE WAY
Businesses with younger decision
makers are more likely to lead the way
in social media.
The largest group among 35–39 year-olds
is the one-fifth (22 per cent) who are already
active in social media, dominating overall
responses within this age range. This
might echo the fact most respondents
in this age group are young enough to
embrace innovation while being senior
enough to make key business decisions.
Of those expecting to become active
in social media in the next 12 months,
one-third (33 per cent) are aged 40–49,
along with 11 per cent aged 35–39 and
22 per cent aged 50–59.
FIGURE 9:
SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY BY AGE.
Q: TO WHICH AGE GROUP DO YOU BELONG?
Q: WHICH STATEMENT BEST DESCRIBES
YOUR BUSINESS’S CURRENT ATTITUDE
TO SOCIAL MEDIA OR NETWORKING?
Actives
Actives soon
Inactives
Total
01 Under 21
02 21-24
03 25-34
04 35-39
05 40-49
06 50-59
07 60 or older
Base: Actives (100); Actives soon (55); Inactives (185); Total (340). 01 0302
3% 3% 3%3%
18%
16%
18%
21%
1% 1% 1%0%

17. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
05 06 0704
22%
14%
16%
11%
25%
27%
27%
33%
22%
30%
27%
22%
8%
9% 9%
10%

18. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
16
THE SURVEY RESULTS
SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY IS
CONSISTENT ACROSS STATES
AND TERRITORIES
Social media activity does not vary
extensively in Australia by state or
territory, with the exception of South
Australia. Two-thirds (67 per cent) of
small and medium businesses in that
state have no plans to become active
in social media, well ahead of the 50–56
per cent recorded in other jurisdictions.
Only 5 per cent in South Australia have
plans to become active soon. The number
of people who consider themselves active
in social media is well-balanced across
all states and territories, with New
South Wales, South Australia, Victoria
and Queensland all similarly active.
FIGURE 10:
SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY BY STATE.
Q: IN WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING AREAS
IS YOUR BUSINESS LOCATED?
Actives
Actives soon
Inactives
01 Victoria
02 Queensland
03 South Australia
04 New South Wales
05 Other
Base: Vic (62); Qld (58) WA (38); SA (48); NSW (102); Other (70). 01 02 03 04 05
32%
17%
50%
32%
54%
14%
28%
67%
5%
27%
55%
18%
24%
56%
21%

19. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
17
THE SURVEY RESULTS
METROPOLITAN
BUSINESSES HAVE A SLIGHT
EDGE IN SOCIAL MEDIA
TAKE-UP
Social media activity varies slightly between
metropolitan and regional businesses,
with metropolitan businesses a bit more
inclined to be active in social media.
However, the share of businesses planning
to adopt social media within the next
12 months does not differ by location.
01 02
FIGURE 11:
SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY BY LOCATION.
Q: IN WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING AREAS
IS YOUR BUSINESS LOCATED?
Actives
Actives soon
Inactives
01 Metropolitan
02 Regional
Base: Metropolitan (176); Regional (164).
30%
16%
53%
26%
59%
15%

20. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
18
THE SURVEY RESULTS
SERVICES BUSINESSES
ARE MORE KEEN ON SOCIAL
MEDIA THAN GOODS-
PRODUCING BUSINESSES
Small and medium businesses in the
services industry are more likely to be
active in social media or have plans
to be in the next 12 months.
As services organisations rely heavily on
reputation and word-of-mouth marketing,
using social media is a low-cost,
low-barrier-to-entry way to engage in
conversation with customers and prospects.
01 02
FIGURE 12:
SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY
BY INDUSTRY TYPE.
Q: WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING BEST
DESCRIBES THE INDUSTRY IN WHICH
YOUR BUSINESS OPERATES?
Actives
Actives soon
Inactives
01 Services industry
02 Goods industry
Base: Services industry (256); Goods industry (84).
31%
17%
53%
21%
66%
13%

21. STEP INTO LIFE
SERVICING CLIENTS ONLINE
Rob Marshall, who owns a personal
training business called ‘Step Into Life
Elwood’ (one of 140 Step Into Life
franchises), appreciates the importance
of regularly engaging with his clients
outside of their training sessions. Rob
created Step Into Life’s Facebook account
shortly after opening his franchise, and
more than three-quarters of his clients
now use it to connect with him and receive
updates.
Popular among his younger clients,
Rob’s Facebook page created an entry
point to social media and allows him to
issue notices, merchandise information,
events, information links and notes
to his clientele.
“I became involved in social media as
a way to drive sales through acquiring
new clients and holding onto the existing
ones,” he said. “It’s a great way to
network and build relationships,
especially with my younger clients who
have their own Facebook accounts too.”
Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
19
THE SURVEY RESULTS

22. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
20
THE SURVEY RESULTS
LEADING SOCIAL MEDIA
BUSINESS SECTORS RELY
ON COMMUNITIES
Small and medium businesses in
accommodation and catering, marketing
and media, and cultural and recreational
services are among the most likely to
already be active in social media. These
businesses typically depend heavily on
word-of-mouth marketing, focus on
specific communities of interest, or are
themselves involved in the information
industry. Personal services and health and
community services organisations are
among the most keen to get involved soon.
FIGURE 13:
SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY BY INDUSTRY.
Q: WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING BEST
DESCRIBES THE INDUSTRY IN WHICH
YOUR BUSINESS OPERATES?
Total
Actives
Actives soon
Inactives
01 Goods industry
02 Retail trade
03 Personal and other services
04 Accommodation, cafés and
restaurants
05 Wholesale trade
06 Health and community services
07 Property and business services
08 Transport and storage
09 Marketing and media services
10 Cultural and recreational services
11 Information technology services
Base: Total sample (340), Active users (100), Actives soon (55),
Inactives (185).
01 02 03 04
25%
18%
13%
22%
18%
9%
7% 7%
13%
12%
9%
8% 8%
21%
29%
17%

23. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
06 07 08 09 10 1105
7%
6%
5% 5% 5% 5%
4% 4% 4%
3%
2%
0% 0%
2% 2%
3% 3% 3%
11%
10% 10%
7% 7% 7% 7%
6% 6%
8%

24. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY BY
BUSINESS SIZE
Medium-sized businesses are more likely
than smaller ones to be active in social
media. Half of medium-sized businesses
(50 per cent) have no social media
plans, compared with 56 per cent of small
businesses. However, the percentage
of businesses intending to become active
in the next 12 months is almost the same
across both small and medium businesses.
22
THE SURVEY RESULTS
FIGURE 14:
SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY
BY BUSINESS SIZE.
Q: CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME HOW MANY
EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING YOURSELF,
THERE ARE IN YOUR BUSINESS?
Actives
Actives soon
Inactives
01 Small business (0-20 employees)
02 Medium business (21-199 employees)
Base: Small business (248); Medium business (92).
28%
16%
56%
33%
50%
17%
01 02

25. Optus Social Media Index. Copyright © 2010.
23
THE SURVEY RESULTS
Creating a social media strategy is
no longer optional for many small and
medium businesses. By not engaging
with online communities, businesses
miss out on opportunities to win new
customers, communicate with
all business stakeholders and build
reputation and revenue.
So how should decision makers go
about building and acting on a social
media strategy?
The first step is to develop a strategy
that details your objectives for social
media, ways of achieving them and
milestones along the way. Creating this
plan involves researching the available
social media tools and identifying those
best suited to your business. While small
and medium businesses overwhelmingly
target larger sites, a more specialised
site or tool—or a combination of both—
to better suit these businesses.
For example, many businesses link
several social media tools together,
for example, a business may use Twitter
to promote a YouTube video. It may also
provide links on a YouTube video to
a Facebook page that in turn links to
a blog that can be shared using social
bookmarking tools.
A key technique is to identify which tools
your customers and suppliers use and
how to best reach them. This should not
dictate your entire social media strategy,
since growth can come from acquiring
new customers and markets as well as
obtaining more business from existing
ones. However, it provides a sound
platform to deliver growth.
The key to a successful social media
strategy is to take it step by step.
Start with one social media tool and
establish a profile before interacting
with social media users. At this stage
you need to confirm your followers or
friends represent your target market
and can help you meet your business and
social media objectives. You should also
join conversations and endeavour to add
value without attempting the hard sell.
You will also need to integrate social
media marketing with your other
marketing activities. An essential
prerequisite is either folding the social
media plan into your business’s broader
marketing plan, or at least ensuring the
plans are harmonised. Specific measures
to integrate social media into marketing
activities include linking to your website
from your social media profile, or adding
your business’s social media contact
details to email signatures, business
cards, brochures and other collateral.
These activities will drive more traffic to
your website and social media presence.
This in turn will make it even more
important to regularly update content
and provide input to your—and your
stakeholders’—social media communities.
Your strategy should ensure your branding
and messaging is consistent across all
platforms. It should also include specific
weekly, monthly or quarterly goals,
including how many friends or followers
you want to acquire and engage with and
how much time you should spend on
social media.
Importantly, your strategy should account
for the fact that almost all social media
tools or sites are not moderated and
impossible to control. If you’re looking
to control what people are saying about
your business you’re headed down the
wrong path. However, giving readers
the freedom and tools to communicate
with each other unhindered can allow
your business to build its brand, or obtain
very quick feedback on areas it may need
to address.
Finally, it is important to remember
to keep at it. As a general rule, social
networking sites such as Facebook
and LinkedIn require an update at least
twice a week, whereas microblogging
sites such as Twitter should be updated
at least once a day.
DEVELOPING A SOCIAL
MEDIA STRATEGY

26. For more information visit bizthinktank.com.au/socialmedia
SingTel Optus Pty Limited ABN 90 052 833 208 trading as Optus Communications, 1 Lyonpark Road, Macquarie Park NSW 2113, Australia. Copyright © 2010. (10/10)