New evidence suggests small business owners are increasingly looking at social media as important business tools.
A study by Cisco found three quarters of firms get business data from platforms such as blogs and social networking sites, while half extensively use microblogging sites like Twitter.
Many SMEs say they use social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn to get contacts and create marketing leads, and most think the technology will get even more important in the next couple of years.
However, just one in seven companies surveyed by Cisco had any formal plans in place for using social networking for business.
