Small businesses have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many forced to close as a result of the global lockdowns and subsequent mitigation efforts.

But with the vaccine roll-out underway, and a re-shaping of the broader economy, there’s been a level of recovery in 2021, with more small businesses emerging in niche interest areas and offerings.

That’s according to the latest data from LinkedIn – to get a handle on the current SMB landscape, LinkedIn recently conducted a survey of almost 3,000 LinkedIn members to get their insights into the top priorities, plans and processes for SMBs in 2021.

Among the key findings:

• Monthly SMB engagement on LinkedIn (defined by clicks, comments, or shares) has grown by 24% since April 2020
• Small-business owners have 2x more connections, and share content 2.5x as often on LinkedIn, and they’re far more likely to join industry groups be active within them
• Interestingly, since June 2020, the Media & Communications industry grew the most in number of new Solopreneurs (+54%)

There’s a heap more insights in LinkedIn’s full report, which it’s translated into the below infographic.

Some key insights for those looking to market to this resurgent market sector, which looks set for even more growth over the next couple of years.