April 13, 2010

How American Businesses are Using Social Media Marketing

A 2009 CMO survey conducted by Duke University and the American Marketing Association provides insights into how firms are presently using social media in their marketing strategy.

1. 65.4% firms use social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn
2. 52.3% use video and photo sharing sites like Youtube and Flickr
3. 50.9% blog
4. Social Media marketing spending expected to grow by 300% in 5 years
5. 81.1% firms use social media for brand awareness and building
6. 55.8% use social media to acquire new customers
7. 51.9% introduce new products and services
8. 47.6% use social media to retain current customers
9. Traditional advertising is projected to decrease by 7.9% while internet marketing is slated for a 9.5% increase.

To see more results from the Duke University/AMA study, click here.

If you’re not currently using sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, you should consider. They are one of the simplest ways to ease into social media and they are free. Blogging is also a way to increase your brand visibility and engage your customers you can also do this yourself, or outsource. Social media is ever changing with great frequency, and continually introducing new tools and online avenues for reaching new customers. Are you currently using social media in your strategic marketing? If so, what have you found to be the most effective?