Reader Polls: Social Media Tools
I’ve been running a poll on this blog for a few months now asking the question ‘have you used any of the following social media tools to market your business?’.
The options and answers in order of popularity were:
• Blog 67%
• LinkedIn 55%
• Facebook 48%
• Other 39%
• Del.icio.us 30%
What does this tell us?
First of all it confirms the significance of blogging as a key business communications tool. It’s interesting to see how many different types of business have jumped onto this marcoms tool, with everyone from CEOs to technical R+D experts, professional services firms and more. Working with small businesses I find blogging can provide a good platform for demonstrating your expertise, creating a feedback channel for customers, providing a place to foster conversation with existing and prospective customers and much more. If you want advice or some ideas for how to get a blog going for your business I recommend reading the BetterBusinessBlogging blog written by expert Mark White.
LinkedIn is another great resource but for networking. There is a lot of debate in the blogosphere as to how valuable LinkedIn really is, but for me there is no question of its potential. A good example is an old colleague of mine who recently contacted me through linkedIn. She had recently started up as a business operations consultant and was looking to expand her network and service offering. There may now be opportunities for us to work together either on the same clients, or through referring business opportunities. For ideas on how to get the most from LinkedIn, read Guy Kawasaki and LinkedIntelligence.
Facebook needs no introduction. It’s amazing how frequently I receive marketing messages from groups I belong to on Facebook, from music bands to clubs I belong to. One of my clients uses Facebook to manage its alumni and as a source of recruitment. There are no end to the possibilities. For bigger brands you might even consider advertising on Facebook.
The main point that came across from the survey is that people are using a mixture of different social media tools to market their business. A blog is a good start, but develop your LinkedIn profile in parallel and cross promote both platforms. Once you have a blog up and running and your LinkedIn profile is starting to grow, look at Twitter, or start social book marking with Delicious.
There is a good argument that you should have an objective in mind before you start with social networking and some goals in place in order that you can measure whether your efforts have been successful. I agree with this entirely for blogging but for the less strategic tactics, like LinkedIn, I would suggest just getting started and trying it for a month to see what you can achieve, you may just be surprised how many doors it can open and the costs are tiny – in most cases just your time.
What’s the next reader survey then?
Well it’s online now in the right hand sidebar and I would like your help to understand the impact of the global recession on your business..:
What tactics have you employed to combat the global recession?
Increased marketing spend
Made redundancies
Cut costs
Changed strategic direction
Refinanced business
Other
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239 Responses to “Reader Polls: Social Media Tools”
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Surprisingly many people are using facebook. I’d suspect that since it’s pretty hard to market anything this way people would just find other ways. I guess I was wrong.
Social media is quickly becoming a bigger and bigger part of our marketing efforts. The internet is where most consumers are headed and we need to be there to foster relationships.
I definitely agree that the different social media tools have been very helpful in marketing my business. Facebook and blogging has been very helpful. I’ve never tried Linkedln, but I think I’m giving it a shot.
[…] Market Blagger recently ran a poll of small business owners, asking them what social media tools they’ve been using. The list is pretty telling and what’s not on it says as much as what is. Here are the numbers: • Blog 67% • LinkedIn 55% • Facebook 48% • Other 39% • Del.icio.us 30% […]
why isn’t twitter in the list for marketing?I thought I would rank at the 2nd or 3rd placing. I guess many companies combat global recession by cutting cost.The most practical method.
Social Media Marketing is the next generation for e-marketing. Linkedin is alsoa good tool apart from facebook and the blogger.
I have never heard of linked in before. It would be interesting to see of those people who use the different types of marketing media, which each one finds the most rewarding for the time it takes to promote their products or services.
I’m looking for a reasonable means of tracking my Social Media Marketing campaigns. So many of them are rather expensive and, at this early stage, would not be feasible for my business.
nice, i think those are the best social media outlets. i think twitter is quickly becoming a player as well.
Good post but what about the other social media?..are this the top 5 among the list??… the myspace, multiply, orkut and etc.?
I have different social media accounts and i love to use them it kind an entertaining and i keep them updated..
Well i agree that social media has a big help in an e-marketing..
It let us connect with our friends, people with similar interests and can give also opportunity to find more connection.
Hi,
Very nice post.
Social media is now play the major role in the marketing.
Its become bigger and bigger.
you’re forgetting twitter on that list! crazy how many people use it… even news anchors and pro sports players…
-Jack
Hi all,
I realise Twitter is missing from the list but the survey was setup at the start of the year and Twitter, whilst already big, wasn’t quite in the spotlight so much. I assume everyone using Twitter will have picked the ‘Other’ category in the survey.
@online data backup I know, the growth of Twitter recently has been incredible. I hope it does not turn out to be a lot of noise and not a lot of interest.
@2nd chance banking there are plenty of other social media platforms you could use for marketing purposes, whether for attrating new customer, servicing existing, or managing you internal communications. There is simply no way I could have listed them all, although I’d be interested if anyone has put together a definitive list..?
@dorset web design. For ideas on how to measure your social media efforts, read http://tiny.cc/dBsgn
@zaslony. Facebook is a great way of building community and therefore a good route for delivering marketing messaging. A good example of this is a local PADI dive school and am a member of which regularly sends out messages advertising dive trips, training and more to it’s Facebook members. What’s the cost of this, nothing but time.
Thanks everyone for your comments.
thank you for sharing an idea through this post is very helpful to me I am a new blogger that’s why I am searching some tips and post that can give me some knowledge in Search Engine Optimization and I Appreciate this one. by the way you made your blog better good job.
There is no doubt, that running a blog today and participating in social networks are tools everybody should think about using. What i don´t understand is the talking about Linkedin as direct marketing or a place where u get new contacts?
blogging is really the best option when it comes to achieving great results because the readers develop a sense of honesty and trustability when it comes to reading the bloggers blog. I’m shocked its not ranked much higher in terms of percentage. Social networks are great and all but its blogging that excels on the internet the most.
Oh yes your right Anday there are lots of social media platforms, but we should choice the one that have more people who are using with it…whether for marketing purposes or social networking…
Its good to have a list a definitive list of top social media platform so we could choose which platform suit for business.
Posting this list maybe a good idea isn’t it?
Is anyone who could post it in here.?..
It will be greatly appreciated….
Interesting poll results. I didn’t expect LinkedIn and Facebook to have such high usage for marketing. I can see how LinkedIn could be good for networking, which isn’t marketing exactly, and with Facebook I think it depends on the networks you are a part of. We don’t all get lots of marketing messages on there.
Yes, people are beginning to use social media sites more and more these days. I have found that social media isn’t as effective for driving sales, but are great for connecting for joint ventures with other business owners. Fun to see some stats on it all!
Nate
Blogging is more effective, I guess. But nothing to lose using social networks to promote our business. I sometimes get clients from there too.
I do love this article! I definitely agree that the different social media tools have been very helpful in marketing my business. So many of them are rather expensive and, at this early stage, would not be stock market today feasible for my business.
I think LinkedIn is the most important for business as a lot of companies search for your profile there. It’s like a common routine.
I think LinkedIn is the most important for business as a lot of companies search for your profile there. It’s like a common routine.
www.pcterritory.net
I’ll add one more. Consistency! Potential customers do not always need what you’re selling that minute. You just want to make sure you’re front of mind when they do need you. Get involved with local charities and your local chamber. Repeat visibility is a great way to keep yourself front of mind.
I read a statistic that 97% of home based internet business fail within the first few months? Why? Is it lack of education, coaching, experience, marketing capital? Any insights?
@thermal label more and more people are using Facebook and Linkedin today…I agree with you that there good social networking sites but also it depends how you propagate your network here…
In our company we’re focusing more and more of our efforts on our blog. This will be the first step for now, then we will focus on the next SM tool, probably FB or Linkedln. I ddn’t realise Linkedln was geting so big.
Building relationships and increasing customer loyalty are the key to Internet marketing trends for this year. To take full advantage of them without spending a lot of money, you need to harness the power of social media.
Blogging should be the best choice of the people promoting using social media.Blogging gives the customers and the company a community feeling.There is chance of exchange of ideas, which would benefit the company.
India is one of the greatest Democracies in the world with Diverse population.The Media is the hart of the democracy. the media print and electronic are totally free to air whatever they like to as in any democracy
Awsome Marketing tips. Thanks. Does anyone use the RainMaker Criagslist Software to market their business?
There is a good argument that you should have an objective in mind before you start with social networking and some goals in place in order that you can measure whether your efforts have been successful.
I use blogging as my main tool of spreading the word about my stuff. I find Twitter easier to use although I have accounts in LinkedIn, Facebook, and del.icio.us. Thanks for the helpful info about how to use these.
Blogging is really an important thing as it helps you to establish relationship between you and your audience .
Blogging platforms will always be superior due to the fact they are both flexible and favored by search engines. Any platform that allows two-way sharing of ideas is King today.
Personally I don’t see what all the hype is about with Twitter. You get such a little allowance of characters to use in your posts… how can that be helpful? It also seems to me that twitter is for the younger generation. Blogs are the way to go in my opinion.
-Charlie
I am already using twitter. But will now try some of your other suggestions. Thanks. Always looking for a way to market our wedding accessories.
I think the choice of which social media you use depends on your market - I would say LinkedIn is generally for B2B networking, but as more business to consumer people start marketing online Facebook will overtake this
In the statistic the blog got the higher percentage of user.. many are using the blog for there platform of marketing online…and social networking such as Linkedin and Facebook use as medium to link to there blogs and website to attract customers.
Obviously, Social Media Marketing will play a vital role for next generation for e-marketing. And it is becoming a bigger part of our marketing efforts…….
Thanks for a good list of top social media platform but what about others?????
Blogging is a good marketing strategy for small businesses. It can increase their cash flows, help a business reach out to a larger market as well as create a lasting online market presence.
Social networking can promote a small business in the market place. Entrepreneurs need to seize the opportunity and maximize on this strategy since it has helped many small businesses stay on course and create a niche despite the economic downturn.
I wonder how many votes would you receive by placing this poll on facebook. I agree though that blogs are the strongest marketing tool but the twitter boosted it’s popularity lately and should not be forgotten.
wow, that’s more even than i thought it would be. i’m not surprised that blogs are the most popular. i think they will continue to average out though.
I never knew. LinkedIn comes next after blogging after Facebook is a big big marketing tool out there. I created my profile there but it seems it caters only for job seekers and the like.
Marketing Depend on the mood of the user and reach of your advertising medium. So first step of marketing is to search your user category and then select the the medium through which you could reach to them.
@ diety - i agree with u that TWITTER should not be forgotten, surprisingly twitter boost-up much it’s popularity this year…more and more people are crazy about having twitter..
Well having twitter is about gaining followers and this is the concept for building your popularity, an idea of following someone. And this is also a good social media tool for your business…
Different social media tools are really very helpful in marketing different businesses. Facebook and blogging are my favorite. I’ve never tried Linkedln and Del.icio.us, but I think I will give it a shot.
I just like blogging… anyways, I really doubt that LinkedIn is more popular than Facebook as social media tools.
I thought facebook will get more numbers than linkedIn. Anyway, I have noticed that more and more online companies have deployed the use of blogging. Social marketing has been used widely by many businesses in order to reach out to their target market. Social sites such as myspace, facebook, linkedIn and even twitter can drive massive amounts of traffic to your site.
I surprised digg is not present in this list.
I do agree with the author that the discussed top 5 media tools are effective. However, I would like to tell here that there are many other tools which can be used for the purpose of advertising. Those which are not mentioned are also necessary to put into implementation.
Wow delicious is 30% i wonder where is digg
I use blogs sometimes but for non-english businesses, sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Delicious are not very effective. For example, I still think that specialized forums are excellent to market certain type of businesses. Forums are old school but still very effective.
I never knew that facebook could be influential in blogging.
Where is Digg - the biggest social bookmarking site out there!?
I agree with chicago buick dealer, social media is quickly becoming a bigger part of our marketing efforts so lets use it.
Interesting comments re facebook - many business are using these community sites as a marketing tool - it makes sense with the amount of users you can reach - Twitter is another site that seems to be recommended for marketing.
thanks!
I am surprised you didn’t include twitter in the options ;). I don’t know the reason, but I rarely receive marketing messages on facebook. For me blogs and twitter are platforms to show expertise to existing and potential customers. I haven’t really used linkedin for marketing my business, most of my connections are old colleagues and clients, when I want someone to connect me to a particular organization I do lookup linked in connections, but end of the day ‘business’ happens on phone.
Yes, facebook and also twitter are going going to be more more influential in the short future.
Well i think this poll run on this blog only….as what the author said “running a poll on this blog a few months ago” so the result comes from the votes who visit here on this blog and take the poll… i don’t think this an official survey…
I’m I correct??.
Social media forums is a huge success in the marketing world. Recent graduates are going to have a step up from the rest of the older demographic for their natural education on the topics/forums.
Blogging, social networking and all that you mentioned have become to me what the daily newspaper was to my parents and their generation. I devote specific time in my day to read, learn, associate and apply many ideas from blogs. I think of them as my virtual encyclopedia/newspaper. Just like with this post I now know about LinkedIn and will have to check it out. Social networking is just plain fun and so easy….why would anyone put that off?
Thanks for the great information.
@ Blake Ipsen
Definitely social media is one of the tool in marketing now a days…Many people are using social for business purposes…and it is one one of the effective way to promote/attract customers..for the recent graduate they can used this a stepping stones in Internet Marketing since that they are already familiar with this platform, giving them tips and idea they soon be knowledgeable with how to use this social media.
I don’t see how most, if not all companies don’t use a blog. It’s a great way to inform and update people as well as provide link juice to the companies main page, which drives more traffic to them.
-Jack
Why there is no mixx and digg?I thought they are quite famous.
Great info! My husband and I are just starting an ecommerce business, and doing some social networking on the internet. Just realized that there is so much more that we can be doing!! Today is my day to map out our social marketin plan on the internet, so this article is a big help.
I think, if we can optimize facebook and twitter we’ll get huge traffic just find the ways…
No Doubt, Social Media Marketing is the next generation for e-marketing. Social business networks like Linked in and RYZ are very usefull for online business marketing purpose.
Thank so much for sharing such valuable information!
It’s a great way get traffic from twitter, twitter is becoming an increasingly important platform for online communication
Social Media is very in demand now on internet and its part of SEO techniques, I am using different social media site and it can help a lot. It can deliver traffic to my webiste and you need to add more friends for more trafic.
It is essential to be aware of this social media tool that helps in your business…
If you a have found a site you want to use for social media build your presence. Work for them and make friends and share links.
Social media has definitely progressed from being a meeting place for geeks to a very important part of the online marketing equation.
Blogging has been one of the social media for marketing where i can get feedback directly from the customer….Customer relationship is mandatory for all business…It is the best way to attract customer…It is the easy way to approach the people…
If you’re a company online today and you’re *not* using blogging or social media, in some form or another, to market your biz, you’re seriously missing out.
Now if I could just find the time to update my twitter account lol.
Facebook and blogging has been very helpful. I’ve never tried Linkedln, but I think I’m giving it a shot.I don’t know the reason, but I rarely receive marketing messages on facebook. For me blogs and twitter are platforms to show expertise to existing and potential customers.
Surprisingly big percentage for facebook. It’s so hard to market anything on FB that I’m surprised people are even wasting time on that.
Nice blog….Social media sites continue to be an important source of community connection, because of the benefits of Facebook…I am glad to hear that many people have fun pages on the Facebook becuse it is the popular technology right now…Social media is the best place to market a product…This is said to be one of the important factor for the social media….
I don’t belive on this numbers
i would have thought facebook was more influencial, but this makes some sense. fun post.
i really think facebook is the largest still. so many references to it in movies and tv shows.
In starting as you described about starting a blog for your business its a great way because u can get here users comments for your products also, but remaining post also provides good tips like using facebook and linkdine.
It tells the clear pic on the peoples communicating in social media and other blog networks. Thanks
I was amazed that Del.icio.us is only 30% and why there is no digg?
Very surprised that the percentage was higher for LinkedIn than it was for Facebook - albeit only marginally. I’ve got a multitude of online contacts who use Facebook and only a small number on LinkedIn, myself.
i like to do working on delicious.it really good social media.
I agree that blogging is key to modern day marketing, Twitter is another one catching on like a firestorm.
Interesting poll results. I didn’t expect LinkedIn and Facebook to have such high usage for marketing. I can see how LinkedIn could be good for networking, which isn’t marketing exactly, and with Facebook I think it depends on the networks you are a part of. We don’t all get lots of marketing messages on there.
Might be Digg is the other 39% left?
Hi,
Yes it is correct that most of the people are use the blog for marketing of their business.But i am surprise that only 30% are using the Del.icio.us .
IMO Linkedin is the place from where we get useful contacts and which helps to drive targeted traffic to our blogs. Even Twitter is the good option for marketing purpose but it’s not listed
am i wasting my time on twitter?
Best Regards,
Leif
I’m currently using Twitter, Facebook, Bebo, and Mybloblog. This is just an initial list. I’m planning to use Friendfeed, Del.icio.us, and Technorati in future. I just want to take my case study one at a time.
[…] Social Media Marketing Starts With Your Blog May 19th, 2009 | Posted in Social Media submit_url = “http://taylor-and-associates.com/taylors-internet-marketing-blog/social-media-marketing-starts-with-your-blog/05/19/2009/”; Marketing Blagger ran a poll and introduced its results in April. The most popular social media tool is a blog, followed by LinkedIn and with Facebook a very close third. You can see the results of the poll here. […]
I’m looking for a reasonable means of tracking my Social Media Marketing campaigns. So many of them are rather expensive and, at this early stage, would not be feasible for my business.
@ Andy Bargery - as what you said if anyone could put together a definitive list.
” ………. There is simply no way I could have listed them all, although I’d be interested if anyone has put together a definitive list……? ”
I find these statistics:
Twitter - 86%
Blogs - 79%
LinkedIn - 78%
Facebook - 77%
Youtube or other Video - 41%
Social bookmarking Sites- 38%
Forums - 38%
StumbleUpon - 28%
Digg, Reddit, or similar site - 26%
FriendFeed - 18%
Working with small businesses I find blogging can provide a good platform for demonstrating your expertise, creating a feedback channel for customers, providing a place to foster conversation with existing and prospective customers and much more.
Interesting results. I generally use Digg, Delicious, Twitter and Facebook.
The best social marketing tool ive used is Socialmarker.com.
hmmmm..Does LinkedIn is really so powerfull social media tool ??
@ Pozycjonowanie stron - the poll result show that the linkedin got the highest vote for social media as a strong tool used by most people in networking..and mostly on others poll survey linkedin is included top list social media tools…
Great survey, social media tools seem to be expanding daily. I’d like to see the results for twitter users. So many sites are developing new ways to promote their site, I think twitter is a great way to do this.
am doing a article for my school and I need as much input you can give about Obama and how he also made history for being our first CRM/social media president. Also how And small businesses can learn a great deal from studying how Obama used social tools and strategies to meaningfully connect with people from all walks of life.
Good summary. I see people mentioned Twitter in the comments which the popularity of that platform is exploding.
Digg.com is a great site as well to get involved in. It can become time consuming, but it is great for building links and generating traffic, although the quality of the traffic might not be that great, the link potential is nice. It is great for bloggers. Just be sure to have your server ready for traffic surges if you build-up a solid profile!
almost every day I always submit on digg.com but I have not been able visitors from digg
You need to remember that this poll was taking place on a blog so obviously people who have seen it use blogs - I think in a general population blogs don’t play that huge part.
Social media are often refer to as avenues that facilitate any form of social media networking…this help in generating traffic to your sites…
Traffic generation through social media works best for those who treat their online “friends” with courtesy and respect.pushing people to visit your website, you may eventually end up losing many of your friends over time and even get banned from groups or forums.
It is essential to be aware of this social media tool that helps in the business
I thought facebook is more popular than other ones.
In the field of marketing, social media is playing a vital role. And Facebook is a great place to to market your business. Marketing is one of the major factor in business. Nice post. Keep it up.
This day in age if your business is not online, you are missing one of the
most important pieces of your puzzle.Connecting your business with the world through the internet is one of the most powerful means of cheap marketing and advertising. SMM and social networking are very cheap and very effective methods of gaining user interactiviy and viral campaigns all in one
Combine customer loyalty programs and sales incentives
to your marketing agenda will increase another vital part of your business.
Social media is the best way to increase SEO and with the tools make more easy.
You need to remember that this poll was taking place on a blog so obviously people who have seen it use blogs - I think in a general population blogs don’t play that huge part.
I used to use facebook,but now I just get bombed with loads of junk mail,Digg is far better,maybe its the class of customers
Blogging is more effective for marketing. But theres nothing to lose using social networks to promote a business. I haven’t been down that route yet but blogging is what I’m concentrating on now
Definitely Social Media Marketing is a very good way to get traffic and obtain the aims in terms of marketing online, it is not an easy work there are tips to follow to really make it effectively. How does Search Engine Optimization Work?
blogging is just merely talking about his/her opinion and in some case turns into non-facts.
Haha at the people complaining that digg isnt on the list. Seriously digg?
i preffer digg using social bookmarks..its more effective for me
Social Media Marketing is becoming a bigger part of marketing
Thanks for a good list
Great post… it seems that Linkedin has the highest percentage on the survey.
Social media are the new venue that you can use to market and promote your products and services.
Wondering why twitter is not in the list?.. well i think its popular and can be a great way to used in a business..
social networks are known to be effective in promoting your blogs… they are many proofs that these networks are very effective
Interesting Stats
But I wonder with popularity of twitter over last year, how many would have said yes to twittering.
FB is the best.
You have to cover the spectrum when getting involved with social media. Maximizing your presence on the major networks like Facebook and linkedin is crucial…making sure you protect your name across all the networks? CRITICAL! Knowem.com is a great place to start locking down your company (or personal brand) in the social media game. Well worth the investment!
Social media does have a role in marketing, but that role depends on your business and how it best fits the needs of your business. It also depends on the effort you are willing to put forward when it comes to social media. Learn the role social media can play in marketing and how it can benefit you as a company.
FB , yes might be best for you but I think there are few more ideas to use just like Digg, Redit, stumbleaccount , etc.
Since the focus on the Web 2.0 is people and not pages then yes I’d say yes, use the social networks to market your business !
I TRULY AGREE TO YOU THAT APART OF ALL THE MEDIUMS SOCIAL MEDIA IS ONE OF THE BEST WAY TO PROMOTE ANY PARTICULAR ONLINE BUSINESS1
Seems like a lot of the most beneficial social media sites have been left out. Digg and Redit drive a lot of traffic to my sites and have proven to be more beneficial to me than linkedin and facebook.
I AM TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU THAT FOR A SITE PROMOTION SOCIAL MEDIA IS VERY IMPORTANT!
The choice of social media definitely depends on the target demographic for your site/blog. It is so easy to set up a student based business on Facebook it’s scary - I prefer twitter for genuine interactions with people. Too many businesses just tweet endlessly and don’t engage.
me personally i only use facebook. suits my need. no need for twitter and all that crap!
Using all the social networks available is a great idea
I liked your poll results & i got to know about the people choice about the different social medias & i got very interesting facts from the poll that the blog is still favored by the people than any other social media!
I guess social news sites are the best way to use social media for generating traffic. But they are not for any site because it is not easy to get on theirs frontpages.
The best way to combat recession: work more, try harder!
Now, I think facebook is the biggest social media tools in the world because I ever read that facebook user growth increased three millions every day..
How is about mail for example yahoo mail and google mail ?
Mail provider now also give a tool to connect other as social group..
hey it has given very interesting results saying that the blogs are more favoured by the users than the face book it is just like a surprise that even all other such as delicious are also lagging behind!
The thing here in this pool is it give us the information and idea how the social media have a great contribution in marketing online…
Great article! You should add a poll to see how many people have added their company to twitter. It certainly has become the newest way to send out a mini press release…
This is a great post!
I have been looking for a conclusive report on Social Media results to show a client. This provides a great insight.
We have had varied results with Facebook, but have yet to try other social medias . Will definately be having a deeper look into this.
Thanks,
Katie
Social media is booming now a days. But people make use of different ways to promote their business. Some use blogs, some use face book , some linked. According to me all are very good for social media marketing.
I agree with the “blogging as a key business communications tool” concept. Most people are using blogs to promote their online business. No matter what kind of social media tool you use, it’s just a matter of how well you would use it and the dedication you would put in implementing it. That will determine the outcome of your effort in the end.
Oh! It’s great to see that Blog got 67% asper popularity, it means compare to any thing like social site or facebook or else blogging is great.
For me, twitter deserves 1st place. Social media is a great marketing tool nowadays.
I tell clients to use Linkedin for professional profiles. The facebook stuff is fun as is MySpace but it’s not relevant to business necessarily.
Social medias are a craze among the youngsters especially. these are best tools to keep connected to friends, family and even know new person..it increases contacts easily. I personally use Facebook and Orkut both are gr8! I’m sure these networking site can help in e-marketing. But I agree, Blogs would be the the best option as one can give more details in a blog about the product or service. Looking forward to the next poll.
Thanks for the post. I have finally started using reddit, stumbleupon, facebook, twitter, digg, and delicious to promote sites. Social networking is a viable traffic option.
i will go with 70%
Most of the people are on the twitter as there social media tool..since it is popular and has million of people who have twitter accounts it can drive more traffic in your site…
Blogging is a very important marketing tool. I recently learned that people’s advertising defenses go down when you send them to a blog, rather than a website, because a website is almost always equated with selling and a blog is usually seen as a personal communication tool. I use blogging in conjunction with article and video marketing on sites like ezinearticles, YouTube, and
Adwido.
Social networking and bookmarking are now essential parts of any business’ marketing arsenal. With the rise of inexpensive inbound marketing, traditional outbound marketing is going by the wayside. Plus, why wouldn’t a company want to have a presence on social networks? There is nothing to lose. Older generations of business people must accept this revolutionary change in marketing and advertising. These social media tools allow businesses to start valuable B2B relationships, gain new leads, as well as gain traffic and exposure for their brand/website. If your company is not taking advantage of social networking, then you are missing out on a very valuable source of new business.
Hmm, the results of your poll give food for thought. I’m surprised with Deli.cious being so high on the list, I haven’t really found the site to be that useful…
uhh, I don’t trust social polls, online polls, or any of those things at all. That’s because I know when i fill out those types of things, i totally just put anythign i feel, not what i really think. they are totally not useful!
This will help me a lot in starting up on my social networking career. Thanks for the information!
For me, facebook is much more popular than others. And also twitter. But why is that it was not included there?
A business blog is a bit commitment. It’s not just for a few days of intensive blogging and then giving up. Isn’t that what ebooks are for?
I’ve got a big list of blogs I read for work and the good ones are run by more than one person.
I find twitter a good way to market your business. I fill that twitter is the simplest way to advertise about any new products or deals. It doesn’t need any developer or designer like email marketing. Just write a text and directly come to the point.
I feel its is better to have Blogs to promote your business than any other social networking site or idea. Blogs the best way that you could manage your content and blogs are search engine prone and they have high credibility.
I do agree that Blogging really works for any kind of business. But we need to experiment with all these and find out which works for us and which doesnt. For example i tried with all social bookmarking sites but Stumbleupon gave me good traffic and good leads even more than delicious. So it needs a little bit of experimentation.But all are worth a shoot!
LinkedIn comes as a surprise to me, other than just connecting to ‘old colleagues’, I don’t see much use for linked in. Facebook can be used in a more consumer centric way with apps and groups etc.
Social networking is very much needed for the upcoming of the business and i am sure that it helps a lot for bringing your business to the top. Blogs are making a huge difference in making this very easy. Lets see, what all more new things are introduced in it.
Hmm i am not well surprised by your poll results because i have seen most of the bigger companies doing their business by the blogs promotion for their site instead of it i will agree to you that the blogs are the permanent part of the business promotion thanks for it!
The best way of social marketing is blogs, they are of great help in many ways. The pot given by you is simply awesome and all the points are explained very well in it. I am very sure that these are real facts will have huge effect on the business.
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Social media is wonderful at breaking down the barriers to reaching consumers -both potential and actual.
I am baffled that twitter is not on the list, its another major media toll used by so many persons, i m skeptical that this survey has any real fact, because twitter not finding a place in the list is something that cant happen.Moreover i thought that LinkedIn is just a way to connect to old collegeaues is more like a social networking site rather than a tool of media.
I definitely agree that the different social media tools have been very helpful in marketing my business.
I’m not surprised either with your results. Companies and individuals and even traditional media are more and more seduced with online media and networking sites and people are just getting used to spending some time socializing on facebook or commenting on their whereabouts on twitter.
Social networks are proliferating in many different forms from the monsters such as Facebook to the niche forums on systems like Ning - they come and go but each time a new one takes hold you need to establish a whole new infrastructure and set of contacts…. This blog allows a business to bring all of these elements together, creates a focal point for a community of customers, provides the company with its own social network hub…
It would be very interesting to see of those people who use the different types of marketing media, but i would prefer Twitter, man its rocking now a days, rather than Facebook or Orkut.
I also agree with the “blogging as a key business communications tool” concept. Most people are using their own custom of freebies blog to promote their web business, but it dosen’t matter what u use, how you are promoting it is foremost thing, there are many online tips and tricks available, you can hunt over there.
People are confused for which ways to be used for promotion of everything and you post solves their confusion. I am sure many people will try out for blogs promotion as it is quite easy and works well enough.
I find it interesting that a lot of people are using Facebook to market their products. Plus it actually seems to get results.
Very informative, but for me blogging would be my medium in social media tools.
Number 8 is one of the most popular reasong with business people fail, they just don´t focus on being positive. Interesting post, thx
I’m surprised to see LinkedIn feature so highly, on the other hand I’m not surprised to see Facebook but people tend not to get the best out of it and it’s a case of ‘jumping on the bandwagon’.
Twitter is something I’ve used quite extensively, and I saw good results too when you’re creative. Give it a go!
Nice post!! I got more information to this blog.. I thing social media tools is very quick to populate our marketing.. I loved your post.. Thanks to share the information
For any business to grow big social media promotion is very much important. The best part of social media promotion is that it helps you to derive traffic and helps to get good credibility.
I very much dislike marketing info being broadcast using Facebook. I see Facebook as a personal area to enjoy socialising. When I receive info about products I feel the impact is negative.
There is a fine line between marketing and invading.
I think most people will try all the social networks at one point or another. The poll that should be asked in how many people carry on using the networks regually after the first month!
It is quite important to do social media promotion as it helps to boost traffic and helps to make a good name on web. Nice article and i am trying to promote through Linked In.
There is measure of commutation of ideas, which would benefit the visitor. Blogging should be the optimum deciding of the group promoting using media. It gives the customers and the society a group idea. Friendly networking can support a small acting in the marketplace post. I agree that it puts on the top of the survey.
social media seem to be a good tool for E-marketing up to now and futures. however, how to use that source in the best way is the problem, a lot of SEOer is abuse this tool now.
It amazed me how greatly social media affects all kind of business nowadays.
Social media utilities create opportunities for the use of both inductive and deductive logic by their users. The speed of communication, breadth, and depth, and ability to see how the words build a case solicits.
I would agree with those stats, however I would add Twitter to the list. I’m starting to use Twitter more and more in my work.
Blogging, facebook, twitter… In this days play very important role in dealing with the customers.
i shocked the percentage of people of world on facebook,but it is nice that it has done the good job of connecting people across the world.
thanks for giving such a very imp info.
hey man i agree to you abo0ut your poll results because i know only about the blogs which are very easy to understand & i have heard about the other medias but i rarely use them so at all your poll results match to my habits on the inter4net surf so for me i am completely agreed with you!
I didn’t expect LinkedIn and Facebook to have such high usage for marketing.it’s a very interesting thing to know.thanks for the info!
Innovation is a constant necessity, particularly for technology companies. Bringing in new and high caliber talent is critical to maintaining a culture of innovation. For any business to succeed it has to gain and maintain a competitive edge, and putting the best players on your team is paramount. Using social networks as a tool for this is obvious in this day and age.
Blogs are being used in such a nice way for the purpose of marketing….many people are quite unaware of making their business successful by making the use of social networking sites like face book and Linked In
I totally agree with those stats though it surprises me quite a bit the high impact of Linked in.
yeah really i agree to you about the medias for the sites promotion & in my point of view i think that the blogs are the really a good idea because they keep promoting your site as l,long as then visitors are there so i am agreed with your poll results !
I agree. Blogging is a key business tool to earn online. I am a newbie in this field and i am looking forward for great results.
The “other” seems pretty significant. What does that contain mostly? It’d be interesting to know all those smaller social platforms.
i don´t understand is the talking about Linkedin as direct marketing or a place where u get new contacts? can u clear my doubt
Bringing in new and high caliber talent is critical to maintaining a culture of innovation. For any business to succeed it has to gain and maintain a competitive edge, and putting the best players on your team is paramount
I never use Facebook for business reasons. I enjoy it to track down old friends but I don’t think they really want to be bothered by business news.
The % that showed above are mind blowing but i think no1 social media site twitter missing from here.I think right now twitter is above from all social media sites..
If you’re running this poll again in the near future, I’m pretty sure that Twitter should be in the top rank.
Blog and face book i use these two and see good results
The only one of those tools I’ve used to market my site is a blog. I use facebook as well but that’s entirely for personal use. I could see how facebook could be useful as a marketing tool but most of the people in my network are peers, not colleagues.
I never bothered much with Linkedin. Looking at these stats my opinion of Linkedin has changed. I’m behind the curve on this one!
I am actually surprised to see facebook so high, I havent had a lot of advertising coming my way from there. Twitter is really growing now, and LinkedIn has always been very good.
that proves it! social media is the best way to promote business and to increase traffic
It seems like Twitter would be high on the list. Maybe that’s because the article was from April.
We use blogs, twitter, facebook and LinkedIn. It’s great for making new contacts and bringing people to your site. Our Social Networking sites are all linked together also. Twitter definately gets the most interest, although I can’t be sure how useful it actually is in the real world.
Great idea for a poll Lee… love to see you repeat it soon so we can see how things are trending. I’ve just published an ebook on the topic for 2008, and it would be great to collaborate going forward, particularly as I start to consider the 2009 book! It’s at
Twitter is on all time high and is a great tool for social media these days and gaining reputation with speed, i guess now you need to redo your poll and you will get a total different result now. For twitter its even predicted that it may even beat Google in the field of real time searches.
Myspace is still useful here. Definitely use blogs, facebook, and linked in mostly. Twitter is catching on quick
I use face book as well but that’s entirely for personal use. I could see how face book could be useful as a marketing tool but most of the people in my network are peers.
Interesting, maybe it is partly age related but I can’t find any use for LinkedIn, but my business partner loves it.
Thanks for the poll, will have to try and use the results to my advantage.
Ya really its true that Social media is now play the major role in the marketing.I think the social media like face book,twitter,orkut and their are many more are very useful and these are the really an important strategical part of any marketing strategy..In today’s life if we have to give new heights or to market our business we can’t neglect these social media tools.
Excellent poll idea. Maybe I’m ‘too committed’, but blogging is probably my main marketing strategy, in combination with social bookmarking and standard SEO for traffic. Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and YouTube come in to play as well…
I would also put twitter high on the list of possibilities.
“it confirms the significance of blogging as a key business communications tool.”
Blogging certainly brings a lot of influence in networking, aside from the information exchange. Plus, this lets you discuss your products and services more thoroughly
“First of all it confirms the significance of blogging as a key business communications tool.”
Some businesses focus on the Internet more than any other media since online advertising is relatively cheap.
Blog , LinkedIn, Facebook, Del.icio.us, twitter all these are the best social media sites that helps to boost up online business. Everyone get that advantages of these sites and get targeted traffic for their business blog or website..
“LinkedIn is another great resource but for networking. There is a lot of debate in the blogosphere as to how valuable LinkedIn really is, but for me there is no question of its potential. A good example is an old colleague of mine who recently contacted me through linkedIn.”
Come to think of it, I had the same experience as you. LinkedIn is really quite helpful because I have the feeling that the people who use it are professionals.
Interesting article, I’m surprised you didnt have twitter on there?
face book and twiter are great sources of social networking personaly i use facebook for marketing purpose and it rally works.
I don’t use any of the social networks. While I’ve always heard how they are necessary I still have yet to hear anybody give verifiable results they are getting from using them.
i think there’s no problem with to using those sites to market business. i think it somehow help other people to find something they’re looking for. they can also read blogs/comments to those products being posted
It took me time to set up a good blog site, but my efforts paid off with increased traffic and more target customers. Facebook has also been a big help.
id say twitter, facebook and youtube…
they are very popular here in our country
Good post. Interesting order from your poll.
Just a point in part of your post, is blogging really a MarComms tool? I would suggest it has been adopted by people in marketing functions but that isn’t the real reason for their being.
However, all the points raised are spot on and of real interest. Thanks for posting.
If you currently use social media analytics software tools, how much do you pay on a monthly or yearly basis? Can you identify the software brand as well?
I’m surprised so many people used facebook. I’m going to give it a go now.
I love social networking (and apparently the rest of America does too)!
I don’t spend time marketing on social networks. The search engines is where the cash flow is at.
Twitter and Facebok is now the social media tools that is mostly used . In your reader polls blog is number one and mostly of us has blog as to tell us our personal opinion and to promote the online business. It is a great tools for us
Interesting that you consider blogging a social media tool. I never thought of it from that perspective.
I just love social media they re so convenient when it comes to marketing your site and creating traffics. I’ve been using blogs, twitter an facebook. Thanks a lot.
i think those are the best social media outlets. i think twitter is quickly becoming a player as well.
Using all the social networks available is a great idea
interesting and useful post
thanks
Blogging is really an important thing as it helps you to establish relationship between you and your audience .
I think leaving twitter and digg out of the lineup is misleading and would definitely change the out come of your ratings
Thank you for sharing the information regarding social media tools. The social media is the best way to increase your potential customers and increasing your products or services popularity. This information given here is very useful for new peoples using social media optimization.
Can LinkedIn be really so powerful as social media tool ?
Thank you for sharing the information regarding social media tools. The social media is the best way to increase your potential customers
Thank you for sharing the information regarding social media tools. The social media is the best way to increase your potential customers