Small Biz Plans to Grow with Social

36% of small businesses look to step up with Twitter and Facebook

Small businesses are confident about their ability to weather the recession, with more than one-half saying they have either fully recovered or will do so by the end of 2010, and nearly three-quarters claiming they will drive recovery in the overall economy, according to the “Third Annual FedEx Office Signs of the Times Small Business Survey” from FedEx Office and Ketchum.

To that end, almost two in five small-business owners reported they would be growing their businesses with social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. That was up from less than one-quarter who planned to up their game with social in 2009 and made social media the only tactic to increase in importance since last year.

About 42% of small-business owners said they would increase spending on advertising and marketing this year overall.

“Small businesses are definitely getting it right when it comes to identifying and investing in the tools that will help them bounce back from a difficult period,” said Randy Scarborough, vice president of marketing for FedEx Office, in a statement.

E-mail marketing solutions firm Constant Contact likewise found small businesses optimistic about their economic prospects in 2010, with 70% expecting to grow this year. Website and e-mail marketing were a bigger priority than social media, but Facebook was considered important by more than one-half of respondents.

More than one-quarter said blogs, LinkedIn and Twitter were other key tools for marketing their business.