Here’s a cool illustration by Infographics that demonstrates the growth…

“Most organizations are in discovery mode when it comes to social media,”

or that…

“the significant participation in the survey of more than 2,000 senior executives demonstrates how important the topic is—and it’s one they are working hard to figure out.”

I was however VERY surprised to read these statistics:

• Three-quarters (75%) of the companies did not know where their most valuable customers were talking about them.
• Nearly one-third (31%) aren’t measuring the effectiveness of social media on the business.
• Less than one-quarter (23%) are using social media analytic tools.
• A small number (7%) of participating companies are able to integrate social media into their marketing activities.

Especially that 75% of companies polled were not monitoring their reputation in this day and age and economy.   Don’t they realize that there are over 500 million active users on Facebook alone – over 1/2 of which participate once a day — even if they choose not to???

If you’re reading this blog and are not managing your online profile and need help getting started, give me a call. I’d love to show you how to protect the reputation you’ve worked hard to get.   We call it profile management and in our books it’s a must do, that is if you want to stay in business!

Was interesting to hear that roughly 1/2 of respondents polled:

• are fans of appliance brands or retailers on Facebook
• use social networking sites to seek advice on electronics purchases
• discuss apparel on social networking sites to compare prices
• follow automotive brands or retailers on Twitter

Are your customers stalking you?  How does your company rate?

Do you know the number one reason why customers switch suppliers?

A book called “Lessons from the Field” by Howard Feiertag and John Hogan gives the following reasons for customers leaving:

o Death or moving away – 4%

o The influence of friends and relatives – 5%

o Competitor marketing and special offers – 9%

o Dissatisfaction with product or price – 14%

o Perceived indifference of the supplier – 68%

Although connecting with people face-to-face will always be the best way for two people to communicate, social media allows you to communicate with a large number of people very effectively.  Social media can also greatly improve your search engine ranking, and then there’s always the point that, some people just plain prefer to communicate with social media rather than email.

Life is a team sport and it’s important to ♥ your entire sphere of infuence — your friends, employees, suppliers, prospects, alliances, mentors, and other people you need to succeed.  Don’t let your competition win by default — ensure your brand is represented in all key markets.

then follow up with a few arm twisters e.g.

• Facebook Statistics
• LinkedIn Statistics
• Other Social Media Statistics

for the analytic type, or if the crowd can handle the ‘f’ word, I play the following presentation which has great one-liners you could play on…

Would you like help persuading the Social Media Naysayers in your life? Ask me about my WHY SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENTATION !

The survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid last fall found that Canadians are spending more than 18 hours a week online, compared to 16.9 hours watching television.

Interestingly, Internet usage and the number of hours watching television have both experienced a rise since last year. Web surfing is up from 14.9 hours last year and television watching rose to 15.8 hours.

Other media, such as newspapers, radio and magazines have all remained relatively stable in the last year.

The survey also found that the age gap in Internet usage is narrowing. On average, 18-34 year olds are spending 20 hours a week online, compared to 18 hours for those over the age of 35.

via Internet usage overtakes television watching: Report .

Read more Facebook Users Are Getting Older. Much Older..