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Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 1
Exploiting the Future Potentialof Social Media within UK
Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
A Pathfinder Study
Conceived and Conducted by Penny Power
in Partnership with Fast Future Research
Slides supporting the White Paper
To download the White Paper please visit www.pennypower.co.uk
September 2011
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 2
Introduction
SME Exploitation of the Web Youth Unemployment
• UK SMEs motivated to leverage the Internet
• Two distinct skill sets– Interactive technology– Marketing
• We must find ways of helping small businesses bridge the gap
• Digital Business Britain Manifesto
• Opportunities arising from the Digital Age
• Add a level of business skills and adapt use of social media to business
• Employability programme
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 3
• The UK is facing a decade of turbulence– However, there is real vibrancy in the SME sector
• SMEs - fastest and most viable route to drive short to medium term economic growth and job generation
The Action AgendaKey Findings and Understanding
‘…over the past six months UK small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMEs) have grown on average by six per cent…”
Source: HP survey, 2011
Increasing Importance of SMEs for the UK Economy
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• Small and large businesses outsourcing tolow cost economies
• Large businesses unable to adapt fast enough against purpose-built Internet competitors
• Redundancies within government sector• Graduate unemployment rising• Companies cutting budgets and spending• Sole trader and SME growth to absorb growing
labour pool with limited employment prospects• Youth unemployment is a growing concern for
the UK
The Action AgendaKey Findings and Understanding
Unemployment is a Critical Challenge• 2.43 million
unemployed in UK
• 829,000 unemployed for over 12 months
• 917,000 16-24 year olds unemployed in the three months to May 2011
• 18.2% of economically active populationSource: www.statistics.gov.uk
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 5
• What support do new and emerging SMEs need?
• What can be done to help the growing band of micro businesses to maximise their chances of success?
• Pathfinder survey assessed awareness, take-up and skills gap around social media amongst UK SMEs
The Action AgendaKey Findings and Understanding
Supporting the Development of the UK’s Micro Businesses
One critical pillar of a successful SME growth strategy is to embrace fully the potential of social media
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 6
• Survey conducted between May 2011 and June 2011
• 817 responses from across UK
• Promoted via social media including social networks of:– Ecademy– Fast Future Research– The Chamber of Commerce – BNI
• Largest response groups:– South East, London & South West
The Action AgendaThe Pathfinder Survey
Nationally Representative Respondent Base
South East28.1%
South West10.8%
London27.6%
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 7
The Action AgendaSurvey Results
Small Teams, Tight FinancesRespondents by Business Size
Respondentsby Turnover
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 8
The Action AgendaSurvey Results
Small Steps to Global Markets• Unfulfilled international potential
• Survey reflects a group more active in social media than general SME population– Possibly understand better its potential
to facilitate international trade
• Clear digital presence may be a key enabler
• Find smart ways to help UK businesses make transition to trading internationally– Build international presence and
customer base
• National commitment to raising UK SMEs’ foreign market exposure
78%of respondents believe they cansell outside the UK
Only 45%of respondents are actually sellingoutside the UKtoday
Only 23%of the total SME community sells goods/services/ licenced products outside the UKSource: www.bis.gov.uk
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 9
The Action AgendaSurvey Results
UK Internet – A £100Bn Sector• UK - biggest e-commerce market in the world when
measured by the amount spent per capita
• Internet economy - likely to grow by 10% a year for the next 5 years– Could contribute up to 13% of GDP
a year by 2015
• 150,000 businesses signed up for a free hosted website in the first 12 months of Google’s Getting British Business Online campaign
“The Internet is worth
£100Bnto the UK economy – more than 7% of national income.”
Source: Google ‘Connected Kingdom’ report, 2010
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 10
The Action AgendaSurvey Results
In Sight But Out of Reach• Clear recognition of commercial value of
social media• Increasing take-up and exploitation through
growth forecasts for e-commerce and national roll-out of broadband in 2015
84.6%
52%70% 39% of respondents use the Internet for paying taxes
of respondents
believe social media to be important to their business
of respondents reported having grown business as a result of using social media
of respondents are selling through theInternet
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The Action AgendaSurvey Results
Resource Constraints• Time management challenges
faced by the average UK entrepreneur
75.9% of respondents are the main person undertaking social media activity within their firm
12.5% say they have a staff member conducting the majority of their social media efforts
Time Spent on Social Media Activity
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The Action AgendaSurvey Results
Addressing the Skills Gap• Clear skills gap between seeing the
opportunity and having the capability to realise it
• Reports from China suggest need for 600,000 additional media skilled individuals in the next 3-5 years
Perceived Social Media Expertise
59.9% of respondents see the value of having a dedicated social media apprentice
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 13
The Action AgendaImplications
Eyes on the Prize• Potential of social media is increasingly well
understood
• Over half the respondents already using it
• A number appear to lack the time or inclination to devote to building true mastery of this critical medium
A Critical Engine of Growth• Make sure mechanisms are in place to help
sole traders and SMEs to:- Launch their own business- Minimise the associated administrative
requirements
• Ensure these groups are supported and motivated to succeed
In Search of Opportunity• SMEs believe they can do more
internationally
• A daunting move when starting out
• Need practical help and advice from those more experienced
Tooling Up• Time is key – many tasks compete
• Some seem unable/unwilling to devote time
• Social Media Apprenticeships recognised as potentially valuable vehicle to provide dedicated resources
• Help SMEs capitalise on social media
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Recommendations
Launch a Social Media Apprenticeship (SMA) programme
• Three ‘training frameworks’
• Maximum flexibility for the SME and SMA
• Qualification as a standard for recruitment and adoption
• Access to key skills
• Embrace students already investing time in academia on media skills
• Exercise the creativity of young ‘born digital’ people
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 15
Recommendations
Encourage Social Media Agencies and providers of training and coaching to provide Social Media Apprenticeship opportunities• Encourage companies to recruit one Social Media Apprentice
• Immediate benefit of work experience combined with a low cost resource
• Remove the strain of educating a work experience student and show them the commercial aspect of the sector
• Help young people translate academic knowledge into transferable business skills and solutions
• Encourage agencies to help SMEs get started with social media
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Recommendations
Research the journey and share the learning
• Incubated research programme monitors changes that occur within SMEs when they gain the resource and skills of a young person
• Monitor how the SME and SMA learn to work together
• Capture innovative changes that take place
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Recommendations
Support the unemployed
• Those being made redundant need to adapt to and believe in their ability to be a sole trader
• Education programme to help build their social capital and influence online
• Best achieved by working within an ecosystem of education, business support, housing associations, job centres and innovation partners
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 18
Recommendations
Track the social attitude shift amongst UK SMEs
• Track change in culture from the ‘closed, selective and controlling’ mindset of traditional business to the ‘open, random and supportive’ mindset of the connected, social world
• Ethical communication and values
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 19
Recommendations
Drive adoption of social media within the education system
• Encourage the use of social media and digital as a force for good within academic institutions
• Create awareness of reputation management and personal branding
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Recommendations
Develop a peer-to-peer mentoring service
• Expansion of practical education and support programmes
• Coalface knowledge
• Business volunteering initiative
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 21
Recommendations
Create the desire for small businesses to recruit this new form of business development
• Create the demand for jobs
• Roadshows around the country with support of networks such as the Chamber of Commerce
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 22
Recommendations Summary
Create the desire for small businesses to recruit this new form of business development
Launch a Social Media Apprenticeship (SMA) programme
Encourage Social Media Agencies and providers of training and coaching to provide Social Media Apprenticeship opportunities
Research the journey and share the learning
Support the unemployed
Track the social attitude shift amongst UK SMEs
Drive adoption of social media within the education system
Develop a peer-to-peer mentoring service
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 23
SME Exploitation of the Web Youth Unemployment
• UK SMEs motivated to leverage the Internet
• Two distinct skill sets– Interactive technology– Marketing
• We must find ways of helping small businesses bridge the gap
• Digital Business Britain Manifesto
• Opportunities arising from the Digital Age
• Add a level of business skills and adapt use of social media to business
• Employability programme
Summary
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 24
Questions
twitter: @pennypower
www.pennypower.co.uk
07771 543478
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 25
Additional Slides
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 26
1. Adopt a Digital Mindset and philosophy
2. Improve Britain's trading future
3. Ensure national inclusion
4. Provide Digital Skills to all, offering individuals choice and a future that they can control
5. Embrace ethical on-line behaviour
6. Value the social capital created by individuals
7. Ensure our Business Leaders, Advisors, Mentors and Coaches understand Digital Business
8. Recognise the value of home based, digitally connected business in the economy
Digital Business BritainAn 8 Point Manifesto
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 27
In 1998 Penny Power Founded Ecademy.com
A Social community for SME’s that has grown to over 620,000 member profiles in 200 countries. Based in the UK, Penny and her husband Thomas have spent 13 years evangelising the use of Social Media and Digital tools to help SME’s become more productive and grow their business.
In 2010 Penny launched the Ecademy Digital School to train Business Coaches on how to embrace the digital world and ‘go social’, helping them and their clients to grow.
In March 2011 Penny wrote the Manifesto for Digital Business Britain www.ecademy.com/manifesto to manifest a nation of Digital Mindsets and help SME’s build their businesses through social media and digital tools.
Background on Penny Power
Copyright © 2011 Penny Power Ltd 28
An ambitious plan has been developed to achieve the following goals:• Growth in SME use of social media for business development purposes
• Reduction in Youth Unemployment (NEETs or Born Digital’s)
• Growth in Digital jobs by the creation of a new role – the Digital Assistant
• Growth in exporting opportunities
• Improve the ethics and communication style of British Social Media users
• Creation of the ‘Ecademy Start-Up’ program to help redundant adults to build their social media presence and start their own business
• Penny to create the country’s first ‘Collaborative Digital Ecosystem’ of ‘stakeholders’ who share in the Vision to grow the UK through increased Web Exploitation with collaboration between:
– Housing Associations– Business Support networks –
LEP’s, Chamber, IoD, FSB, Ecademy etc
Background on Penny Power
– Colleges of Higher Education– Training Providers– Business Coaches