The news: Small businesses aren’t retreating in response to inflation—they’re relying on marketing as a growth lever.

• Inflation and rising costs are top concerns for 41% of small-business owners in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand this year. But that concern is translating into action, per Constant Contact’s Q1 2026 Small Business Now report. 
• Half are prioritizing efficiency gains, while 36% are building or refining marketing plans to stay competitive and protect growth and 33% are trying out new tools and tech.

Zooming in: 68% of small businesses expect social media to deliver the most value this year, far ahead of channels like email marketing (41%), in-person events (29%), and traditional advertising (26%). 

For small businesses, social media remains the most compelling marketing lever because it combines reach, targeting, and measurable returns at relatively low cost.

• Social platforms offer built-in audiences, performance data, and flexible budgets, which lower barriers to entry compared with traditional media. 
• User-generated content (UGC) extends visibility without incremental spend, while paid social enables precise targeting and rapid testing. AI tools are further compressing production time by helping create posts, visuals, and campaign variations.

Implications for brands: Social is a full-funnel growth engine with structural cost advantages.

Brands should invest in always-on content pipelines (daily posts, weekly videos, monthly reports), and use AI to scale variations quickly. Smaller players can challenge larger brands on relevance and responsiveness without needing to match their budgets.

The risk: momentum alone can’t guarantee outcomes—without clear brand differentiation, disciplined measurement, and consistent execution, more social content can quickly become more noise.