Social Media Newbie? You’re Not Alone

With all of the media hype social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook have received in the last couple of months, it should be no surprise that 88% of marketers are now using social media as a part of their overall marketing strategy. Of those, a whopping 72% have just taken the social media plunge in the past couple months.

It’s important to note that it’s not just the big fish like Oprah or Starbucks that are turning to social media tools to communicate to their target audiences.  Small businesses  are leading the way and reaping the many benefits social media has to offer.

Afterall, it is the numerous benefits of engaging in authentic conversation via social media is what has attracted many marketers to this form of one-to-one communication in the first place. 81% of marketers have found that the number one benefit they have experienced from utilizing social media is the increased exposure and awareness for their brand or service.  In addition, 50% of marketers saw an increase in their search engine rankings (SEO) and 48% of marketers saw an increase in qualified leads via their efforts. A majority of marketers also found that once they established a well-planned social media campaign, their overall marketing costs also decreased.

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogs are the top tools of choice for marketers who are new to the social media world.

Most marketers who are using social media understand that in order for social media to be effective, you must put in the time.  64% are using social media for five hours or more per week and 39% are using social media for ten hours or more per week.

If you haven’t started using social media to engage with your customers yet, don’t worry. It’s not too late. To get started I recommend that you check out the Social Media Marketing Industry Report written by Michael Stelzner, which gives great insight into how marketers are using social media (including the stats listed above), or my social media blog series for beginners.