In 2018 I created a survey asking people how they interacted with a business’ website and social media pages. My purpose was to help business owners better understand what their customers cared about when it came to business websites and social media pages.

Most of the questions had set responses and participants could select more than once answer. For two questions, the participants could add their own answers. 1,028 people responded over the course of four months. My goal was to get more than 1,000 responses. Once I did that, I ended the survey.

Survey Quirks

I’m not a professional survey designer. Looking back, I can see that my wording could have been clearer in some places and my options more streamlined.

The interpretation I’ll share is my own based on over 16 years’ experience working with small businesses, digital marketing, and website design.

None of the responses shocked me (except maybe how passionate people are about typos – wow), but since I designed the questions, it is possible I missed topics that are important to participants. For example, I didn’t ask about pop-up windows or music/video that plays automatically – yet participants listed both of those as things they dislike in the open-ended question at the end of the survey.

The ages of participants

The ages of participants are mostly clustered in the 31-40 and 41-50 age ranges. This survey was shared primarily via Facebook, so that makes sense. However, I wish all age groups had been better represented.

When You Hear About a Company for the First Time, How Do You Learn More About Them?

Participants were allowed to check multiple boxes.

The options for this questions were:

Go to their website
Go to their social media page
Call them
Send an email (using your own email, not a website form) requesting more information
Other

Participants added some variation of:

Google/internet search
Check out review sites
Ask friends/family/network about them

The majority of participants seem to go directly to the business website. This makes sense since your website it your “home base” on the internet. It is the ONE place you have complete control over and the place that should best represent you and what you do.

The next most popular response is “Go to their social media page” – this supports something I have believed for quite a while – your social media pages are seen by more than your followers. Someone wanting to learn more about you and your business will be checking out what you are doing in different places.

“Call them” received 10 responses out of 1,028 and those participants spanned most of the age groups.

There were a similar number of responses for “Send them an email – not using a contact form,” and I didn’t ask about emailing using a contact form – I expect it would be higher than 10 or 13, but I’m not sure how much higher because someone just learning about a company may not be ready to talk to them yet.

When You are on a Business' Website, Do You Also Click from Their Website to Visit their Social Media Pages? (Assuming there is a link)

I asked this question because I suspected people did this and was curious about how often they did it.

The options to this question were:

Yes (Always)
No (Never)
Sometimes (Often)
Sometimes (Occasionally)
Sometimes (Rarely)

I think it is fair to say that MOST people will visit your social media pages from your website if the option is there. Which, again, points to your social media audience being more than just your current followers. Again, the No (Never) and Sometimes (Rarely) answers spanned nearly all of the age groups.

I’m pointing this out because it is easy to segment things by generations instead of looking at specific user behavior based on multiple factors.

When You are on a Business' Social Media Page, Do You Also Click from Their Social Media Page to Visit Their Website?

The options to this question were:

Yes (Always)
No (Never)
Sometimes (Often)
Sometimes (Occasionally)
Sometimes (Rarely)

Again, if it is there and available to click, it seems as if most people hop over to your website to see what is happening there.

This is a great reminder that no part of your marketing exists by itself. It is all connected (or can be) to give your clients and potential clients a better experience.

When Visiting a Business' Social Media Site, What Turns You Off?

The available answers were:

Too many sales posts
Spammy photos
Not clear what they offer
Haven’t posted in more than a week
Haven’t posted in More than a month
Haven’t posted in more than 6 months
They don’t post frequently (less than once a week)
Typos in posts


As a human who uses social media and has seen social media posts, I’m guessing none of this is surprising to you. No one wants to feel as if they are being sold to or as if they’ve stepped into an spammy ad.

Posting frequency is a little more varied, and I wish I’d made this question a little more clear. I think it is important to post regularly if you have a business page – especially knowing that your audience may not just be your followers. I also realize that Facebook consistently suppressing business page reach has many business owners wondering if they should abandon Facebook entirely. Social media, like any of your marketing channels, is a piece of the puzzle and not the only place you should show up.

Participants also clearly don’t want to see typos, so proofread your posts and edit them if you catch an error. My best guess is that this refers to many typos over a series of posts and not an occasional typo.

What Makes You Abandon (Leave) a Website?

The available answers were:

Typos
Broken links
Confusing website
You can’t find what you are looking for
Ugly/outdated site
Not enough information on the website
Poorly laid out website (too much text at once, giant photos, etc)
Slow to load
Poorly written copy
Bad photos (dark, grainy, poorly composd, clearly stock photos, etc)

As I mentioned above, your website is your home on the internet. It is the place people can learn the most about you.

I think the biggest takeaway from these answers is to make sure your site is clear, easy to navigate, attractive, and loads quickly.

Your users’ experience is most important – give them something that helps build their trust in you and your abilities – not something they have to figure out before they can get to know you.

When Visiting Someone's Website, in Which Order Do You Typically Explore Their Website?

The available answers were:

Home, About, Services, Blog – 43%
Home, Services, About, Blog – 36%
Home, Blog, Services, About – 2%
Services, About, Blog, Home – 3%
About, Services, Home, Blog – 10%

Participants added:
(about 10 responses each)

No typical pattern – depends on business/reason for visit
Never look at blog
Always read About page

What does it mean? It means people click around on your site to learn more about you and what you do. In fact, your About page may be doing more work than you think to tell your story.

So take a look – is it updated? Do you have a current headshot? Does it really say what you want it to say?

Do You Look at a Business’ Reviews?

The available answers were:

Yes
No
Sometimes

No surprise here. Most people will look at reviews about your business.

How Many Bad Reviews Does It Take for You to Question Whether You Should do Business with a Company?

The available answers were:

1
2
3
4+
I read the bad review and decide it if is likely an issue I will run into also.
I don't worry about individual reviews, I look for an overall pattern.

Reviews are HUGE for small business owners and they stress over any bad review.

The good news here is that most people don’t avoid a business because they have one bad review. I also find it interesting, and encouraging, that most people read several reviews and look for a pattern.

It also means that if you have a bad review, addressing it clearly makes the most sense. You can also use it as a chance to make sure there isn’t a pattern problem emerging.

Share What You Would like Businesses to Do on Their Social Media Pages and Their Websites. How Can They Improve Your Experience?

This was an open-ended question.

Most of responses centered on:

Be honest and human
Don’t be salesy
Put pricing on your website
No pop-ups
Have great images
Offer free things
Have clear information on your website
If you are a brick & mortar, list your phone number, address, and hours
If you are a restaurant, list your menu
Create more interesting social media posts
Be clear in what you offer/your services

Conclusion
After reading over all 1,028 individual responses, the biggest theme I see is that no one wants to be sold to and participants want their interactions with businesses to be pleasant, easy to navigate, and easy to understand.