888-883-9428

The Social Media 101: Business Use of Social Media Marketing

As we progress through the Social Media Sites List - social media sites and tips on how businesses can use social media to interact with the community and promote their brand - we wanted to comment on an article on eMarketer.com regarding business use of social media and consumer’s reactions.

The researchers found 85% of social media users thought companies should interact with their consumers through social media…

For those of you following this series on business use of social media and implementing the tips on using social media for your business, this article and research firmly supports your efforts.

We have heard from some of you with success stories already realized from the series- business networking connections made on Merchant Circle, reconnects with people on LinkedIn from previous jobs that provided a referral, dramatic increases in website traffic from StumbleUpon submissions and an overall improved website presence and ranking from having so many new links on the web.

So, keep it up! It works.  Social media, with genuine communication and interactions from businesses, improves the marketplace, increases consumer knowledge, and is here to stay.

clipped from emarketer.com

Consumers Await on Social Networks
OCTOBER 10, 2008

Befriended and poked by companies

Nearly six out of 10 Americans who use social media interact with companies on social media Websites, according to a September 2008 study by conducted by Opinion Research Corporation for Cone.

The researchers found 85% of social media users thought companies should interact with their consumers through social media, at least when needed.

“Americans are eager to deepen their brand relationships through social media,” said Mike Hollywood, director of new media at Cone, in a statement.   “It isn’t an intrusion into their lives, but rather a welcome channel for discussion.”

Extent that Companies Should Have a Presence in Social Media* According to US Adult Social Media Users, by Gender, September 2008 (% of respondents in each group)

Nearly four out of 10 online merchants surveyed used social networks. Of those, nearly one-third said they had a page on Facebook, and more than one-quarter said they used each of MySpace and YouTube.

Comments

Responses to “The Social Media 101: Business Use of Social Media Marketing”
  1. Excellent article. Very interesting.

  2. Vernon says:

    Linkedin was included into the About.com Top 10 employment site list…linkedin is still the only social network on the list though…..the newest 3 on the list are-

    linkedin.com (professional networking)
    indeed.com (aggregated listings)
    realmatch.com (matches you to the perfect job)

    Good luck to those searching for candidates or jobs!

  3. This study is pretty important, because it can go a long way toward eliminating that mental hurdle of “our organization shouldn’t be wasting time with this stuff.” If customers/constituents expect you to be there, you darn well better figure out how to be there. And once that decision’s made, most people are smart enough to figure out how to make stuff work, if they’re willing to get a little advice from others who’ve done it.

  4. admin says:

    Thanks for the comments, Vernon, Texas Wanderer and David.

    Social media serves many purposes for many diverse communities. David, we can’t agree more that businesses need to recognize its importance in today’s world of marketing.

  5. I certainly have noticed a few spikes in traffic since adding the share this widget to my blog.

    Mostly from stumbleupon as mentioned in the above article.

    Nice work

  6. Mike Foster says:

    So true. You either have to jump on the band wagon or miss the boat.

    peace,
    mike
    livelife365

  7. Thanks for the statistics. It IS another form of communication and we’ve all seen how greatly those have evolved. If you understand that “marketing” is creating a positive environment for exchange – then social media provides another experience with the company/brand. It provides virtual conversation and relationships.

    Thanks for the great info!

  8. 24patrol says:

    Very interesting, thanks for sharing!

  9. Annie says:

    Great info! I have another powerful site that helps you to build a trusted referral network and allows you to manage your referral relationships. I highly recommend it. Referral Key