Brafton just reported that ads in social media are proven to pay off, with 30 million Americans more likely to make purchases with brands that advertise on social sites. Yet, SmartBrief and Summus Limited's Social Media for Business report reveals that marketers may be slow to integrate social media into their overall marketing plans.
More than 3.5 million businesspeople from a full range of business sizes were surveyed. The study shows that more than 60 percent of respondents have social media campaigns in place, but the majority are new to the social realm.
Just 5 percent of businesspeople said their brands have been using social media for more than three years, and only 7 percent have been making use of social channels for more than two years.
The past year and a half has seen a surge in adoption, with 66.5 percent of surveyed companies claiming they started to use social media in just the past 18 months. Unsurprisingly, a direct correlation exists between the amount of time a company has been social and its level of effective social media integration.
While more than 44 percent of companies that have used social media for more than three years say the platform is fully integrated into their business models, just 6.6 percent of companies that have adopted it in the past year say this is true.
Businesses' investment in social channels may significantly increase in 2011 – no matter how long they've used the channel. As Brafton reported, search marketers say their No.1 priority for SEO next year is integration with social media.
