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The Internet and digital platforms play a key role in the perception and market presence of small and medium-sized businesses as well as in consumers' purchasing decisions. As consumers turn to digital media to search for products and services, companies are already recognizing and exploiting this opportunity in the digital environment. In 2016, about 45 percent of small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. believed that a digital presence was very important to their companies, and about 43 percent said it was important. According to 77 percent of small and medium-sized business owners, a digital presence helps attract customers. About 63 percent of them said that a digital presence could also improve the company's image. In the future, almost 60 percent of small and medium-sized business owners plan to invest in a new website or improve the existing one. As of 2016, around 45 percent of small and medium-sized business owners intend to invest in social media marketing for their digital future.
Integration of emerging technologies into organizations worldwide from 2020 onwards
Social media is indeed one of the main investments made by many brands and companies. In 2016, around 97 percent of Fortune 500 companies were on LinkedIn, about 86 percent maintained an active Twitter account, and 84 percent reported being on Facebook. It was also found that 67 percent of Fortune 500 companies had a YouTube account. Blogs are also part of some companies' digital strategies. Approximately 36 percent of Fortune 500 companies had a public blog, an increase from 2012, when only 28 percent of companies had one. This percentage is significantly higher among the top 200 Fortune companies; about 50 percent of these companies had a public corporate blog in 2016.
Which digital areas do you want to invest in in the future?
Besides brand building and customer acquisition, social media also helps companies find talent. Online recruitment is a key part of their use of digital media. Approximately 92 percent of companies and recruiters in the US used social media for hiring in 2015. According to HR professionals in the US, LinkedIn is by far the most widely used social network for recruitment. Around 87 percent of HR managers reported using this platform for recruitment. By comparison, about 43 percent of HR managers turned to Facebook for recruitment purposes. LinkedIn is also considered by recruiters to be the most effective social network for hiring candidates, with approximately 73 percent of recruiters having successfully hired candidates through this platform. American recruiters are also experimenting with mobile recruiting features that target smartphone users; 39 percent of recruiters reported optimizing career websites for mobile users.
Digitalization of companies – Business digitization
Important note: The PDF is password protected.
Please get in contact with me. Of course, the PDF is free of charge. Important note: The PDF is password protected. Please contact me. Of course the PDF is free of charge.
English version – To view the PDF, please click on the image below.
English Version – To view the PDF, please click on the image below.

