The number one benefit of Social Media Marketing is gaining the all-important eyeball. A signficant 81% of all marketers indicated that their Social Media efforts have generated exposure for their businesses. Improving traffic and growing lists was the second major benefit, followed by building new partnerships.
An unexpected benefit was a rise in search engine rankings reported by more than half of participants. As the search engine rankings improve, so will business exposure, lead generation efforts and a reduction in overall marketing expenses. About one in two marketers found social media generated qualified leads. However, only slightly more than one in three said Social Media Marketing helped close business.
- 81% said: Generated exposure for my biz
- 61% said: Increased my traffic/subscribers/opt-in list
- 56% said: Resulted in new business partnerships
- 52% said: Helped us rise in the search rankings
- 48% said: Generated qualified leads
- 45% said: Reduced my overall marketing expenses
- 35% said: Helped me close business
Some questions that naturally emerge from the information above might include, “Is there a way to improve the likelihood of achieving these benefits by investing more time in Social Media?” and “Are those marketers who’ve been doing Social Media Marketing for years gaining even better results?”
Consider the following…
Helped me close business:
It takes time to develop relationships that lead to actual business. However, a large percent of marketers who take the time find great results. For example, 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.
Generated exposure for my business:
Owners of small businesses (2 to 100 employees) were more likely than others to report greater exposure (84.8% reporting benefits). 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.
Resulted in new business partnerships:
Those who invest the most time in Social Media Marketing gain the most business partnerships. However, 61.83%of people who have only invested a few months in their social media marketing report that new partnerships were gained.
Generated qualified leads:
Many businesses are hoping that Social Media will be the Holy Grail for lead generation. Indeed, 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.
Reduced my overall marketing expenses:
The only financial cost of social media marketing is the time it takes to gain success and the personnel to manage the project. 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.
Helped us rise in the search rankings:
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). Know that Flickr and YouTube have highest SEO “stickiness.”
Increased my traffic/ subscribers/ opt-in list:
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.
