NH Small Businesses and Social Media

NH Small Businesses and Social Media Bridget Franciscovich Social Media Statistics General social media statistics from site traffic to U.S. social media users. Page 6 NH Industry Analysis Industries analyzed are the food and beverage, lodging, boutiques, and ski industries. Pages 7-1 Recommendations Social Media recommendations from author and FCS owner, Bridget Franciscovich. Page 11

Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Small Business Owner Demographics 4-5 Social Media Statistics 6 Food and Beverage Industry in New Hampshire 7 (The Barley House, Weare Towne Grille, Country Spirit, and Tooky Mills Pub) Lodging Industry in New Hampshire 8 (Colby Hill Inn, Stonewall Farm, Henniker House, and Henniker Motel) Boutiques in New Hampshire 9 (Zoe & Co., A Day to Remember, Gondwana & Divine Clothing, and Fabulous Looks) Ski Industry in New Hampshire 1 (Pats Peak Ski Area, Crotched Mountain, Mount Sunapee, and McIntyre Ski Area) Recommendations for Small Businesses in New Hampshire 11 More Information 12 2

Executive Summary There are over 1, small businesses in New Hampshire. Within the previous census by the United States, there would be one small business for approximately every ten people in the state of New Hampshire. The majority of those businesses are nonemployers owned by men with an average age close to fifty. Small businesses hire more than 96% of New Hampshire s workforce. New Hampshire has nearly 4, of their citizens on Facebook. According to the Groundswell Tool by Forrester s the average US social media user is likely to be a spectator on their social media sites by 73%. This percentage changes when age is factored in. Peak traffic times differ among social media sites. Facebook has the highest traffic at 3: pm on Wednesdays. Four New Hampshire industries were given a Facebook analysis along with finding what other social media sites they reside on. The food and beverage, lodging, boutique, and ski industries were analyzed. The most effective form of content on their Facebook sites were generally photos. The ski industry was the only industry analyzed to have taken advantage of different social media sites. Social media is a necessary tool for small businesses to engage with their consumers. Social media analytics are a way to provide more information of the specific consumers on each social media site. Consumers generally trust companies with good online reviews. 3

Small Business Owner Demographics The average small business owner in the Untied States in 27 was 5.3 years old. The average income for a small business owner in the United Sates was $59,378. Small business owners in 27 were more than 4% more likely to be married and more than 2% more likely to be the male head of household, homeowners, and have children (Experian, 27). In 27, males in New Hampshire owned the majority of small businesses with 76, firms. That is over 5% of all small businesses in New Hampshire owned by males. Women in New Hampshire owned 36, small businesses in New Hampshire in 27. Minorities owned a combined 4,, or 3% of small businesses in New Hampshire in 27 (U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, 213). In the February 213 Small Business Association report, as of 21 New Hampshire had 132,641 small businesses. A small business is defined as a business with fewer than five hundred Level in 27* () Business Owner Demographics Firms Employment Male- owned 76 21 Woman- owned 36 37 Equally male/female- owned 21 39 African American- owned 1 1 Asian- owned 2 5 Hispanic- owned 1 1 Native American/ Alaskan- owned n.a. n.a. Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander- owned - - Rank Industry Average Age 1 Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 54.1 2 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing 53.5 3 Wholesale Trade 52.4 4 Mining 51.7 5 Services 5.4 6 Public Administration 5.2 7 Manufacturing 5.1 8 Retail Trade 49.9 9 Transportation 49.2 1 Construction 48.3 employees. 76.8% of New Hampshire small businesses are nonemployers, meaning the owner operates the business single handily (U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, 213). The estimated 21 New Hampshire population was 1,316,469 ("New Hampshire," 212). That gives us an estimation of one small business per every 9.925 people in New Hampshire in 21 (U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, 213). The small businesses in New Hampshire represent 96.1% of all employers. The small businesses also employ 5.7% of the private sector labor force in New Hampshire. The majority of small business employers employ fewer than twenty employees. The construction industry has the most non-employment small businesses with 17,8 firms. Retail trade has the most, employing small businesses with 4,1 firms. The health care and social assistance industry hires the most employees with 42, employees in 21 (U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, 213). Veteran- owned 2 48 Publicly held, unclassified 5 294 4

Firms and Employment by Industry in NH () 21 (Nonfarm) Industry Nonemployer Firms All Firms Total Employer Firms 1-19 1-499 Employees Employees All Firms Total Employment 1-19 1-499 Employees Employees Total 12.8 31. 26.3 29.8 562.5 11.8 284.9 Forestry, etc. and agriculture support 1.7.1.1.1.6.4.5 Mining.1....2.1.2 Utilities.1... 3.5.1 D Construction 17.8 4. 3.8 4. 22.7 12.1 22.1 Manufacturing 2.2 1.8 1.2 1.7 68.1 6.9 3.1 Wholesale Trade 1.9 1.7 1.2 1.5 23.9 5. 14.9 Retail Trade 8.5 4.1 3.4 3.9 95. 16.2 35.1 Transportation and warehousing 2.3.7.6.7 12.2 2.3 6.2 Information 1.5.5.3.4 13.1 1.5 5.8 Finance and insurance 2.5 1..8.9 24.3 2.7 9.9 Real estate and rental and leasing 11.6 1.2 1. 1.1 6.7 3. 5.6 Professional, scientific, and technical svcs. 17. 3.7 3.3 3.6 29.4 11.6 22. Management of companies and enterprises..2..1 16.9.1 1.1 Admin. Support, waste mgt., remed svcs. 7.2 2. 1.7 1.9 47.6 6. 16.3 Educational services 3..6.4.5 27.4 2.1 9.3 Health care and social assistance 6.4 2.7 2.2 2.6 86.3 12.2 42. Arts, entertainment, and recreation 5.6.7.6.7 11.9 2.3 8.1 Accommodation and food service 1.2 2.9 2.3 2.8 51.7 13.5 36. Other services (except public admin) 12.2 3.4 3.1 3.3 2.9 12.7 18.9 Unclassified..1.1.1.1.1.1 5

In New Hampshire, according to the Facebook advertising tool on fan pages nearly 38, people have a Facebook account, which is 28.87% of the population in New Hampshire. In 21, 15% of New Hampshire citizens used Twitter (Miller, 211). In a LinkedIn advanced search over two million people live in the Greater Boston Area. In the United States out of the overall social media users 73% are spectators meaning they read, watch, and listen to posts on social media. The 18 to 24 age group has 89% spectators, 85% joiners meaning they maintain a profile on several different social media sites, and 38% collectors meaning they use RSS feeds, add tags to webpages, and use online voting. In the 25 to 34 age group only 1% are inactive on social media. The 35 to 44 age group has the closest average to the United States overall social media average. The 45 to 54 age group has 37% critics meaning they rate and review products, services, and companies on social media. The 55 and above age group has 12% creators meaning they publish blog posts and create content on social media. They also have 3% 1% Social Media Statistics 9% 8% 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% % inactive users ("Groundswell tool," 212). Each social media sites have different traffic and traffic times throughout the days and week. Facebook in particular has the highest traffic between 9: am and 4: pm with 3: pm on Wednesdays being the highest traffic day and time in the week. The least amount of traffic is from 8: pm to 8: am with the weekends having the least amount of traffic. On Twitter traffic starts to build after 11: am and peaks between 1: pm and 3: pm Monday through Thursday. Traffic fades on Twitter between 8: pm until 9: am. The least traffic overall is during the week is 3: pm on Fridays. LinkedIn has peak traffic times before and after business hours, Tuesday through Thursday. The least amount of traffic is after 1: pm throughout the night on Mondays and Fridays. Google+ has peak traffic during work hours especially 9: am to 11: am and fades after 5: pm until the next morning. Pinterest has peak traffic on Saturday mornings and has high traffic between 2: pm to 4: pm and 8: pm to 1: am. Traffic is at a low between 5: pm and 7: pm (Piombino, 213). US Country Average 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ 6

Food and Beverage Industry in NH A Facebook competitive analysis was completed between The Barley House, Weare Towne Grille, Country Spirit, and Tooky Mills Pub on November 16, 213. The Barley House had 3,322 page fans while Tooky Mills Pub had 575 page fans and Weare Towne Grille and Country Spirit had 27 and 33 page fans respectively Fan Page Comparison: 3.5K 3.K 2.5K 2.K 1.5K 1.K 5 3,322 27 33 575 The Barley Weare Towne Country Tooky Mills House Grille Spirit Pub Brand Posts Fan Page Comparison: Brand Posts 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Status Link Photo Video Other The Barley Weare Towne Country Spirit Tooky Mills House Grille Pub Engagement Details Comparison Likes Comments User Posts Shares The Barley House Weare Towne Grille Country Spirit Tooky Mills Pub During the week of November 2, 213 The Barley House posted five photos and two links. Weare Towne Grille posted six status updates. The Country Spirit posted one photo and one video while Tooky Mills did not post anything. None of the restaurants posted daily. The Barley House had a total of 75 people engaging on their posts. The Weare Towne Grille, Country Spirit, and Tooky Mills had 1.9%,.6% and % of their fans engaging on their posts respectively. The Barley House had 63 likes on their brand posts, 6 comments, 8 user posts, and 5 shares Some of the four restaurants were on two other social media sites, Twitter and Foursquare. The Barley House is the only restaurant out of the four on Twitter. They had 2,64 followers, 6,58 tweets, and were following 579 pages. All of the restaurants with the exception of Weare Towne Grille are on Foursquare. The Barley House has a 7.9 out of 1 rating with 1,42 visitors, 3,164 check- ins, and 37 tips. Tooky Mills has 123 visitors, 37 check- ins, 9 tips, and no rating. The Country Spirit has 17 visitors, 282 check- ins, two tips, and no rating. 7

Lodging Industry in NH A Facebook competitive analysis was completed between the Colby Hill Inn, Henniker House, Stonewall Farm, and Henniker Motel on November 16, 213. The Colby Hill Inn had the most page fans with 663. The Henniker Motel had 28 page fans, Stonewall Farm had 252 page fans, and Henniker House had 235 page fans. Fan Page Comparison: 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 663 252 235 28 Colby Hill Stonewall Henniker Henniker Inn Farm House Motel Brand Posts Fan Page Comparison: Brand Posts 5 4 3 2 1 Status Link Photo Video Other Colby Hill Stonewall Henniker Henniker Inn Farm House Motel Engagement Details Comparison Likes Comments User Posts Shares Colby Hill Inn Stonewall Farm Henniker House Henniker Motel During the week of November 2, 213, the Colby Hill Inn posted 34 photos, 5 links, and 3 status updates. Stonewall Farm posted 8 photos the Henniker House posted 3 photos and one link, and the Henniker Motel posted one status update. The Colby Hill Inn posted 3 brand posts per day while the other lodging business posted less than one post per day. The Colby Hill Inn had 515 engagements on brand posts, which is 155.4% of their page fans. Stonewall Farm had almost half of their fans engaging on their posts. The Henniker House had 27 people engaging on their posts and Henniker Motel had five engaging fans. The Colby Hill Inn had 345 likes on their brand posts, 4 comments, and 13 shares. Stonewall Farm had 37 likes on their brand posts, 23 comments, and two shares. The Henniker Motel and the Henniker House each had 5 likes on their brand posts. The Henniker House also had two comments. The Colby Hill Inn had 275 people talking about them. The Henniker House had 14 people talking about then. The Henniker Motel and Stonewall Farm had fewer than 1 people talking about them. The Colby Hill Inn was the only lodging business of the four to respond to consumers post with a 1% response rate. The most engaging post type was status updates with 6 interactions. Some of the four lodging businesses are on three other social media sites, Twitter, Pinterest, and Foursquare. The Colby Hill Inn and Henniker House are on Twitter. The Colby Hill Inn had 51 followers, 468 tweets, and was following 623 pages. The Henniker House had 299 followers, 373 tweets, and was following 111 pages. The Colby Hill Inn is the only lodging business of the four on Pinterest with 4 followers on 2 boards and 1 pins. The Colby Hill and Henniker Motel are on Foursquare. The Colby Hill Inn had 43 visitors, 76 check-ins, and no rating or tips. The Henniker Motel had 18 visitors, 23 check-ins, and no rating or tips. 8

Boutiques in NH A Facebook competitive analysis was completed between Zoe & Co., Professional Bra Fitters, A Day to Remember, Gondwana & Divine Clothing, and Fabulous Looks on November 16, 213. Zoe & Co., Professional Bra Fitters had 1723 page fans, Gondwana & Divine Clothing had 458 page fans, A Day to Remember had 155 pages fans, and Fabulous Looks had 112 page fans. Fan Page Comparison: 2.K 1.8K 1.6K 1.4K 1.2K 1.K 8 6 4 2 1,723 Zoe&Co. 155 458 112 A Day to Gondwana Fabulous Remeber Looks 1 Fan Page Comparison: Brand Posts Status Link Photo Video Other 5 Brand Posts 15 Zoe&Co. A Day to Gondwana Fabulous Remember Looks Engagement Details Comparison Likes Comments User Posts Shares Zoe&Co. A Day to Remember Gondwana Fabulous Looks During the week of November 2, 213, Zoe & Co., Professional Bra Fitters posted 9 photos. A Day to Remember posted 1 photos, two links, and one status update. Fabulous Looks and Gondwana & Divine Clothing posted two and one links respectively. Zoe & Co., Professional Bra Fitters received 4 likes on their brand posts, 12 comments, and 4 shares. Day to Remember received 25 likes, one user post, and 4 shares. Gondwana & Divine Clothing received two likes and Fabulous Looks had no engagement. Zoe & Co., Professional Bra Fitters had 21 people talking about them, A Day to Remember had 16, Gondwana & Divine Clothing had five, and Fabulous Looks had two people talking about them. None of the four boutiques responded to their consumers on Facebook. The most engaging content type were photos with 82 total interactions. Some of the four boutiques are on two other social media sites, Pinterest, and Foursquare. A Day to Remember is on Pinterest with 6 followers on 6 boards and 87 pins. All four boutiques are on Foursquare. A Day to Remember had 43 check-ins, 36 visitors, and one tip. Gondwana & Divine Clothing had 22 check-ins, 18 visitors, and one tip, Fabulous Looks had 5 check-ins, 4 visitors, and no tips. Zoe & Co., Professional Bra Fitters had 65 check-ins, 44 visitors, and one tip. None of the boutiques had a rating on Foursquare. 9

Ski Industry in NH A Facebook competitive analysis was completed between Pats Peak Ski Area, Crotched Mountain, Mount Sunapee Resort, and McIntyre Ski Area on November 16, 213. Pats Peak Ski Area had 9,72 page fans, Crotched Mountain had 8,685 page fans, Mount Sunapee Resort had 7,187 page fans, and McIntyre Ski Area had 1,567 page fans. Fan Page Comparison: Brand Posts Status Link Photo 2 15 1 5 Brand Posts 25 Pats Peak Crotched Sunapee McIntyre 12.K 1.K During the week of November 2, 213, Pats Peak Ski Area posted 16 photos, 4 links, and two status updates. McIntyre Ski Area posted six status updates and one photo. Mount Sunapee posted one status update, one photo, and three links. Crotched Mountain posted two photos. Pats Peak posted 1.6 posts per day and the other ski mountains posted under one post per day. Pats Peak Ski Area had 716 likes on their brand posts, 3 comments, two user posts, and 13 shares. Crotched Mountain had 445 likes on their brand posts, 31 comments, five user posts, and 6 shares. Mount Sunapee Resort had 11 likes on brand posts, six comments, 26 user posts, and two shares. McIntyre Ski Area had 89 likes on brand posts, 17 comments, and one share. Pats Peak Ski Area had 534 people talking about them while Crotched Mountain had 269. Mount Sunapee Resort and McIntyre Ski Area had 16 and 81 people talking about them respectively. Crotched Mountain and Mount Sunapee Resort responded to consumers by 4% and 11.5% response rate of posts respectively. Pats Peak and McIntyre did not respond to consumers on Facebook. The most engaging content type were photos with Fan Page Comparison: 8.K 6.K 4.K 2.K 9,72 8,685 7,187 1,334 total over all interactions. 1,567 Pats Peak Crotched Sunapee McIntyre Engagement Details Comparison Likes Comments User Posts Shares Pats Peak Crotched Sunapee McInytre Some of the four Ski Mountains are also on Twitter, Pinterest, Foursquare, and InstaGram. Mount Sunapee Resort had 2,595 follower, 52 tweets, and was following 39 pages. Crotched Mountain was had 1,695 followers, 968 tweets, and was following 34 pages. Pats Peak Ski Area had 167 followers, 1,438 tweets, and was following 236 pages. McIntyre Ski Area had 31 followers, 311 tweets, and was following 268 pages. On Pinterest, Pats Peak Ski Area had 59 followers with 6 boards and 82 pins. Crotched Mountain had 35 followers with one board and two pins. Mount Sunapee Resort had four followers with one board and one pin. On InstaGram Crotched Mountain had 39 followers with 37 photos and videos. Pats Peak Ski Area had 8 followers with 14 photos on InstaGram. Mount Sunapee has the highest rating on Foursquare with a 7.5 out of 1 with 2,158 check-ins, 1,192 visitors, and 19 tips. Pats Peak Ski Area had a 7.3 rating with 1,487 check-ins, 831 visitors, and ten tips. Crotched Mountain had a 6.7 rating with 984 check-ins, 385 visitors, and ten tips. McIntyre Ski Area had a 6 rating with 527 check-ins, 262 visitors, and four tips. 1

Recommendations for Small Businesses in New Hampshire Small businesses in New Hampshire could benefit greatly with the use of social media. Using different social media sites like: Facebook Twitter InstaGram Pinterest LinkedIn Blogging Vine Snap Chat A small business can connect with their target markets similar to the ways large multinational enterprises connect with their consumers on social media. The company s chosen for analysis generally had one strong social media platform over the other three. For small businesses to connect adequately to their current and potential consumers the small businesses need to analyze who is on each social media outlet, when they are on, and what they engage on each social media site. Consumers connected differently on different site and with the use of analytics a small business is capable of figuring out how their specific consumers connect to them. The number of page fans and followers is not the most important aspect on social media. The most important aspect is engagement between consumer and business. A consumer wants to have a personal connection with businesses and social media is a great tool to accomplish that goal. Make sure you are on the social media sites that your current and potential consumers are on and you are engaging back to them. Each analysis of the different industries in New Hampshire, with the exception of the lodging industry, had the most success with the use of photos. The lodging industry analysis had the most success with status updates where in the other analysis provided information that status updates were the least preforming posts. Posting photos would be a general best-projected post to have the most engagement and success with page fans. The analyzed industries, with the exception of the ski industry, were not taking advantage of the other popular social media sites. Consumers tend to trust other consumers and therefore use other social media sites to understand the quality and branding of companies. Work Cited: Experian. (27). Providing more insight into the small business owner. Retrieved from http://www.experian.com/whitepapers/bolstudy_experian.pdf Groundswell tool. (212). Retrieved from http://empowered.forrester.com/tool_consumer.html U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy. (213). Small Business Profile: New Hampshiredoi: www.sba.org Miller, M. (211, January 4). Twitter usage per capita: How states compare [infographic]. Hubspot, Retrieved from http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/637/bid/795/twitter- Usage- Per- Capita- How- States- Compare- Infographic.aspx Piombino, K. (213, June 12). The best and worst times to post to social media (infographic) read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226973 United States Census Bureau, (212). New Hampshire. Retrieved from website: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/33.html 11