Social Networking Generates Leads, Closes Sales for Marketers

According to a social media study by Michael Stelzner for the Social Media Success Summit 2009, 88% of marketers in a recent survey say they are now using some form of social media to market their business, though 72% of those using it say they have only been at it a few months or less.

Marketer's Use of Social Media Tools
Social Media	% Respondents Using
Twitter	86%
Blogs	79
Linkedin	78
Facebook	77
YouTube or other video	41
Social bookmark sites	38
Forums	38
StumbleUpon	28
Digg, Reddit or similar	26
FriendFeed	18
Source: Social Media Marketing Industry Report, March 2009

Key survey findings about specific application show that:

• Small-business owners are more likely to use LinkedIn than employees working for a corporation
• Men are significantly more likely to use YouTube or other video marketing than women (52.4% of all men compared with 31.7% of women)
• For those just getting under way with social media marketing, LinkedIn is ranked as their number-two choice, pushing blogging down one notch
• Among those who have been using social media for a few months, Facebook is in second place. This group also has more Twitter use
• Twitter is used by 94% of marketers who have been using social media for years, followed closely by blogs. This group also endorses online video significantly more than the other groups

72% of marketers say they have either just started or have been using social media for only a few months.

Duration of Social Media Use by Marketers (% of Respondents)
Duration	% of Respondents
Just getting started	28%
A few months	44
A few years	23
No experience, plan to use	4
No experience, don't plan to use	1
Source: Social Media Marketing Industry Report, March 2009

The largest group just getting under way with social media marketing is sole proprietors, with 30.2% reporting just getting started, the survey found. Owners of businesses with 2-100 employees were the most experienced, with 29.3% reporting doing social media marketing for years.
64% of marketers are using social media for five hours or more each week, with 39% using it 10 or more hours weekly and 9.6% spending more than 20 hours each week with social media.

• Those working for a company are twice as likely as business owners to be committing 20+ hours a week to social media
• 44.8% of those ages 30-39 old spendi 10+ hours weekly using social media marketing
• 40.3% of 20-to-29 year-olds spend 10+ hours weekly
• 38.7%  of 50-to-59 year-olds spend 10+ hours weekly

According to the survey, 81% of all marketers indicate that their social media efforts have generated exposure for their businesses. At least two in three participants found that increased traffic occurred with as little as 6 hours a week invested in social media marketing. Owners of small businesses with 2 - 100 employees are more likely than others to report benefits.
Half of participants reported that a major benefit of social media marketing is the resultant rise in search engine rankings that often comes with increased efforts. Improved search engine rankings were most prevalent among those who've been using social media for years, with nearly 80% reporting a rise.

Benefits of Social Media Marketing (% of Respondents, multiple response OK)
Benefit	% Responding
Generated exposure	81%
Increased traffic, subscribers, list	61
New business partners	56
Increased position in search rankings	52
Generated qualified leads	48
Reduced overall marketing expenses	45
Helped close sales	35
Source: Social Media Marketing Industry Report, March 2009