Small businesses spending more on marketing are also expecting increases in revenues. E-marketer also reports that businesses are shifting their budgets away from traditional to cheaper digital advertising, including social media and search engine marketing.

Another survey reported by Small Business Trends asked respondents to identify what they felt would be the MOST important tools for SMBs in the New Year. The top 4 responses were:

• Search engine marketing
• Email marketing
• Public Relations
• Social Media

According to the report, more than 68% of small business owners will be increasing their social media spending. This appears to indicate that small businesses are seeing positive ROIs and gaining confidence in using social media marketing to get results.