Lessons from LinkedIn

How important is social media?

We know social media can be used a successful marketing tool, but is all that time spent coming up with the perfect Twitter-friendly sound bite really worthwhile when it comes to your business growth?

According to a new survey conducted by LinkedIn and the market research company TNS, it absolutely is. The study showed that social media plays a critical role for growing small to medium businesses (SMBs), and not just as a marketing tool.

The vitals

The study surveyed 998 North American small and medium business professionals with revenue between $1 million and less than $50 million. Of those surveyed, three out of five businesses surveyed are in growth mode (defined as seeing an increase in revenue year on year) and one in six businesses are in hyper-growth mode (defined as seeing significant increases in revenue year on year).

The key statistics

• 81% of SMBs use social media.
• Of those who use social media, 94% use it for marketing.
• Of those who use social media, 49% see it as a valuable source for learning about their markets and growing their business (competitor analysis, connecting with peers, learning from experts).
• 61% find social media useful in gaining new clients.
• 90% see social as a highly effective way to maintain brand presence.
• 88% report social media as effective for generating word-of-mouth about a company.
• 89% see social media as important for delivering content.
• 82% consider social to be a meaningful source of lead generation.
• 73% of the hyper-growth businesses increased spend on social media in the past year, 56% of those in the growth stage increased spend, and only 42% of those in the non-growth stage reported an increased spend.
• 82% of those in the hyper-growth mode say social media is effective for generating new leads.

The take-away

The most interesting thing about this survey is the strong correlation between hyper growth and an increased spend on social media. More of the hyper-growth segment reported increased spend on social media and social ads than email marketing, events, online ads and offline ads.

The key take-away? Test drive increasing your social spend in 2014 and watch your business grow.

For more marketing advice, contact your local Snap Centre.