Major Findings from the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Major Findings from the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The awesome crew over at SocialMediaExaminer.com just released their 2o1o Social Media Marketing Industry Report. The 33 page report is geared to marketers and has some great info for anyone looking to create and grow their personal brand. Here are some of the major findings from the survey: Marketers are mostly new to social media: A significant 65% of marketers surveyed have only been involved with social media marketing for a few months or less. The top benefits of social media marketing: The number-one advantage of social media marketing (by a long shot) is generating exposure for the business, indicated by 85% of all marketers, followed by increasing traffic (63%) and building new business partnerships (56%). In 2009, only 23% of marketers were using social media for years. Now that number has grown to 31%. A significant 56% of marketers are using social media for 6 hours or more each week and 30% for 11 or more hours weekly. Its interesting to note that 12.5% of marketers spend more than 20 hours each week on social media. People age 20 to 29 spend the most time using social media marketing (59.1% spending 6+ hours weekly), followed by 40- to 49-year-olds (58.3% spending 6+ hours weekly) and then 30- to 39-year-olds (58% spending 6+ hours weekly). The number-one benefit of social media marketing is gaining the all-important eyeball. A significant 85% of all marketers indicated that their social media efforts have generated exposure for their businesses. Improving traffic was the second major benefit, followed by building new partnerships. More than half of marketers indicated a rise in search engine rankings was a benefit of social media marketing. As search engine rankings improve, so will business exposure, lead generation efforts and a reduction in overall marketing expenses. More than half of marketers found social media generated qualified leads. Those who invest the most time in social media marketing gain the most business partnerships. However, 53.1% of people whove only invested a few months with social media marketing report newpartnerships were gained. We asked marketers which social media tools they most want to learn more about.Social bookmarking sites slightly edged out Twitter for the number-one slot. Facebook came in third, followed closely by Digg/Reddit/Mixx/StumbleUpon and then LinkedIn. Get ahead of the curve By getting started with blogging, social media and inbound marketing you will be ahead of the curve. While many of us have heard of these new disciplines, there are far fewer that are implementing with a sound strategy. Take your cue from savvy marketers and begin to use blogs, social media and search engines as a way to create more visibility and quality opportunities for yourself. The barriers to entry have been lowered. Will you rise up? What do you think of the major findings from the report? Where do you think all of this is heading? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. Author: Chad Levitt is the author of the New Sales Economy blog, which focuses on how Sales 2.0 Social Media can help you connect, create more opportunities and increase your business. Chad is also the featured Sales 2.0 blogger at SalesGravy.com, the number one web portal for sales pros, the professional athletes of the business world. Make sure to connect with him on Twitter @chadalevitt.