How to benefit from the Web 2.0 Social Networking

A one-of-its-kind report on social marketing report discusses how the social networking tools are used and how they benefit and for whom? The biggets winners are the Small and Medium Businesses. Check out some of the conclusions and read the report below.

If your company needs any help with the tools and creating networks and blogs, please contact us.

The Benefits

• The number-one benefit of social media marketing is gaining the all-important eyeball
• An unexpected benefit was a rise in search engine rankings reported by more than half of participants.

What Social Marketers use and how much?

• By a long shot, Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn and Facebook were the top four social media tools used by marketers, with Twitter leading the pack
• Twitter is used by 94% of marketers who have been using social media for years, followed closely by blogs.
• a significant 61% of those investing more than 20 hours per weeks are using social bookmarking sites.

Who is using What and How?

• About one in two marketers found social media generated qualified leads
• 61.62% of marketers who have been using social media for years report it has helped them close business. More than half who spend 16 or more hours per week find the same results
• Nearly all marketers who've been doing social media marketing for years report it generates exposure for their business and a significant 64.86% strongly agree.
• Nearly all marketers spending 6+ hours a week on social media marketing found exceptionally positive results.
• 61.83% of people who have only invested a few months in their social media marketing report new partnerships were gained
• after only a few months and with as few as 6 hours a week, more than half of marketers have generated qualified leads with social media marketing. Sole proprietors were more likely than others to see benefits
• The only financial cost of social media marketing is the time it takes to gain success. However, a significant percent of participants strongly agreed that overall marketing costs dropped when social media marketing was implemented. Sole proprietors were more likely than others to see reductions in marketing costs when using social media marketing
• Improved search engine rankings were most prevalent among those who've been using social media for years, with nearly 80% reporting a rise (and most reporting a strong improvement)
• At least 2 in 3 participants found that increased traffic occurred with as little as 6 hours a week invested in social media marketing. And those who have been doing this for years reported even better results. Owners of small businesses (2 to 100 employees) were more likely than others to report benefits