Scoot Blog

Annual report Uncovers What Business Owners Really Thought About 2011!

Here at Scoot we work hard to make sure that we can give UK business owners exactly what they need, but we can’t do it alone. Over the last year our partner site Touch Local has been conducted surveys to find out what UK SME’s think about the issues that affect them. From the social media revolution to the relegation of print directories to the back of kitchen cupboards, the polls have provided us with an invaluable insight into the world of UK SME’s.

Did you know?

UK SME’s are one of the major driving forces of the British economy, employing around 14 million people and responsible for nearly half of the total private sector turnover.

Given the important role that the small business community plays, it is vital that business owners have the opportunity to voice their options and share their views on the UK economy. The weekly polls ensured that we were always on top of the major issues and developments in business and economy that affect UK SME’s. The poll results were recently published by Touch Local in their annual report 2011 Local Business Overview and the Road Ahead which provides an in depth summary of the information shared by thousands of small business owners throughout the year. Along with the poll findings, the report also covers the major events that played a significant part in the 2011 business year such as the VAT increase and Budget 2011.

One of the main features of the report is the advertising trends of 2011. The year saw print advertising take a sharp decline and social media rise up to become a valuable asset for businesses, allowing UK SME’s to connect with their customers in a way they never had before.

Did you know?

95% of UK business owners believe that usage of print directories amount people under 50 years of age will drop to zero in 2012

One of the highlights of the report is a survey that Touch Local conducted with over 1,000 UK businesses owners, asking them how they felt about the coming year including how they expect their business to grow in 2012.

Read the full Touch Local Annual Report here

Blog your way to a better business

One of the most useful forms of communication for any business is a blog. With over 1 million blog posts written every day, whether you are using your blog to announce new products, keep your customers up-to-date or to just as way to keep in touch, you are definitely not alone! More and more active internet users now read blogs and many businesses now view their blog as their most valuable form of social media. If you have yet to venture in blogging territory why not take a look at our top reasons to start typing.

1. Blogs are now viewed as a mainstream source of communication for businesses and are very search engine friendly! Maintaining a blog is one of the fastest (and cheapest) ways to increase your business’ online exposure.

2. It’s not just customers that you can reach with your blog posts. Research shows that blogs are widely read within the B2B community with even senior management team members visiting company blog sites.

3. More and more companies are replacing monthly email newsletters with regular blog posts as they are easy to create and are instantly interactive. Traditional email newsletters can suffer from low deliverability rates thanks to over cautious spam filters whereas blog posts are easily accessible and sharable!

4. Although blogs don’t tend to draw a large audience, they do attract a highly targeted readership. If your blog contains quality, informative content it will be seen as a valuable resource within your industry.

So what are you waiting for? Start communicating with your business world today!