70% of small businesses will invest in social media advertising in 2022—where, and how much?

Compared to other mediums or channels, social media is relatively new in the advertising space, and small businesses see invaluable merit in investing in popular platforms. As social media attention grows, 70 percent of small businesses will focus and invest in social media advertising in 2022, according to new survey findings from Visual Objects, a portfolio site that features case studies and client reviews of the top creative agencies.

The findings highlight which channels are given more attention, how much the respondents plan to spend, and how traditional advertising stands in the age of digital advertising. Despite the criticism and negative attention from the public, Meta’s Facebook remains the top choice (70 percent) for small businesses delving into social media advertising.

Here are the key findings:

• A majority of small businesses (70 percent) invest in social media advertising.
• Over a quarter of small businesses (26 percent) used between 10-30 percent of their advertising budget on social media showcasing.
• Facebook remains the top social media channel (70 percent) for small business advertising, followed by YouTube (54 percent) and Instagram (52 percent)
• Over a quarter of small businesses spent less than $10,000 on advertising in 2021, with 36% of small businesses stating that COVID-19 had a moderate impact on their business. Annual advertising spending decreased for a quarter of small businesses (25 percent) in 2021.
• Only 30 percent of small businesses plan to invest in print advertising, but businesses with more than 250 employees plan to invest even less (36 percent).
• Fifty-four percent of small businesses plan on spending more on social media in 2022.

Stephen Light, CMO and co-owner of Nolah Mattress, an e-commerce brand, believes that social media is a popular advertising tool because of its reach.

“Social media offers unprecedented reach, the ability to hyper-target deeper insight into consumer behavior, and the opportunity to engage more personality with your audience—all of which are crucial to business growth and longevity,” Light said, in a news release.

Small businesses prefer social media advertising due to its accessibility, influence, and cost-effectiveness.

Read the full report here.

Visual Objects conducted a survey among 1,003 small business owners and managers to see how they approach advertising this 2022.