Fiverr Small Business Month Survey: Marketing Seen as Key Growth Driver, Yet 70% of Owners Spend Less Than Five Hours a Week on It
Research highlights how small businesses are investing in marketing and embracing AI to stay competitive
NEW YORK, May 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marketing challenges from brand awareness to customer retention are the top concerns facing small businesses, yet 70% spend less than five hours weekly addressing these issues, according to a of nearly 6,000 small businesses across 25 countries by Fiverr International Ltd. (NYSE: FVRR), the global platform for freelance services.
The comprehensive report, done in acknowledgement of Small Business Month, reveals three critical digital marketing priorities, with building brand awareness (42%), creating engaging content (40%), and retaining customers (33%) cited as top concerns.
“Small business owners recognize that marketing is critical to their success, yet most simply don’t have the time or resources to give it the attention it needs,” said Rivi Bloch, GM of Catalog at Fiverr. “This survey underscores a growing reliance on freelancers and AI tools to bridge that gap, helping entrepreneurs stay visible and competitive even with limited hours to invest.”
To help overcome limited time and in-house resources, the survey found that nearly half (46%) of small business owners use freelance services for their primary business, while another 48% rely on them for side hustles. Freelancers are most often brought in to handle visual brand elements (45%) and strategic marketing services (28%), both of which remain critical in establishing businesses’ social, digital, and overall marketing footprint. This growing reliance points to a broader trend: small businesses are leveraging external talent to stay competitive in a fast-paced digital landscape without overextending their internal teams and capacities.
Other key highlights of the survey include:
- Despite current marketing challenges, small businesses plan to prioritize digital marketing investments through 2025, with half focusing on digital marketing and social media (49%), followed by branding (39%) and content creation (34%).
- While nearly two-thirds of small businesses rely on social media marketing (64%) as their primary promotion channel, only about one-third each leverage paid advertising (37%) or SEO and content marketing (35%).
- Small business owners are rushing to embrace AI, with 77% currently using generative AI for business needs, personal needs, or both. Only 17% said they were not planning to incorporate AI tools into their workplace within the next year.
To learn more about Fiverr’s Small Business Month Survey, click .
Methodology
To inform this report, Fiverr collected nearly 6,000 responses from small business owners and entrepreneurs across 25 countries between July 2024 and March 2025. The findings reflect the perspectives of active Fiverr users on current priorities, investment areas, and growth strategies during this period.
About Fiverr
Fiverr’s mission is to transform the way the world creates and works together. We’re shaping the future of work with the world’s leading open platform, seamlessly connecting top talent and cutting-edge technology with businesses around the globe. From expert freelancers in over 750 skilled categories to best-in-class GenAI models and agents, Fiverr provides the most advanced and comprehensive talent and tools for digital services—helping businesses get mission-critical projects done fast and cost-effectively.
From small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, millions trust Fiverr for projects in software and AI development, digital marketing, finance, business consulting, video animation, music, architecture, and more.
Learn how to future-proof your business with exceptional talent and cutting-edge tools at . Follow us on , , and .
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