As an online marketer, I am always looking for the best way to market my companies online, both for myself and for my clients.  Lately I've been hearing from everyone about the rage of Social Networking as a viable medium for marketing.  So, I've set out to get some real data about whether social media actually works for businesses like yours and mine.  This is an interesting article I was forwarded by Jim Wescott through his Constant Contact account (I'll go over e-mail marketing in a later post), Executive Director for the Lowcountry Tourist Commission, Visit their website at: http://www.southcarolinalowcountry.com

Social Networks Not Much of a Marketplace

NEW YORK, NY - A study, recently released by WorkPlace Media, outlines some of the hurdles facing major brands as they attempt to harness the worlds of Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, to create an impact with consumers.The study, which polled office Internet users, found that 55% maintained at least one social networking account. However, of those respondents, only 43% reported accessing their social networking accounts at work, and even for those with access, 78% reported spending less than 30 minutes per day on their site(s).

The overall impact of a brand's presence on social networking sites was shown to be minimal in terms of impact and perception. 96% of respondents said their opinion of a product brand did not change if that brand had no presence on a social networking site, and only 11% of social networking users reported following any major brand through a social networking site, and just 12% of respondents said their opinion of a brand changes if that brand maintains a social networking presence.