Survey: Irish SMEs adopt social media

Irish small and medium sized businesses are adopting social media marketing techniques according to a survey.

The survey by business blog the O2 Ideas room indicates that almost a quarter (23%) of senior SME executives are now members of a business/professional social media site.

The most popular is LinkedIn at 18%. In addition, 15% of Irish SMEs have their business on Facebook, rising to 20% for technology related companies. One in 10 SME businesses has a Twitter account.

The study, which was conducted for the O2 ideas room by Behaviour & Attitudes, finds that almost one in 10 businesses (9%) has a blog, up from 5% last year. 11% of technology companies blog, while 13% of senior SME executives contribute to or respond to blogs.

“Blogging, having a presence on Facebook or other social media sites, can significantly boost a company’s visibility online”, added Jonnie Cahill, Head of Communications & Sponsorship, Telefónica O2 Ireland.

The study surveyed over 300 owners or director-level executives in organisations employing between 1-250 people nationwide.