1 in 5 SMBs plan increase in social media ad spend

Ad-ology's "Small Business Marketing Forecast" found that the vast majority (92.5%) of SMBs expect 2013 revenues to stay the same as last year or rise.

"For the third consecutive year, more than half of all small businesses are confident that their sales will increase," says C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research. "It's also the third year in a row where more than 90% of small businesses say their advertising budget will remain flat or increase."

Furthermore, a third of SMBs that spent $1,000 or more on advertising last year plan to increase spend in 2013. One in five SMBs plan to increase ad spending on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, this year.

Mobile marketing will also see increasing adoption among SMBs. "30.5% of SMBs will use mobile advertising, apps or texting as part of their advertising due in part to its ability to geo-target potential customers," says Smith.

Other findings from the forecast include:

- Just 18% of SMBs plan to use daily deal firms such as Groupon in 2013, a drop of 67.7% in 12 months;

- 23.4% of SMBs plan to increase their budget for website development;

- SEO is a priority, with 20.5% of SMBs planning this task in 2013;

- 12.2% of SMBs plan to spend more money and/or time online/mobile video this year.

Tags: marketing forecast, online advertising, SEO, small business, SMB advertising