Thanks to everyone who contributed to our social media temperature test - a poll we set up with the aim of gathering information about what social media platforms our readers are using for business, what they think of them and the results they have achieved.
We then want to use these results to focus the areas of online marketing that we discuss on the blog in future.
First of all, what were the results of our poll?
Overall, they were pretty positive about using social media, and respondents are definitely using it as part of a business marketing strategy.
It very much reflects the more general trend of more companies having a social media strategy.
All people who voted see social media as a part of their business strategy.
72% see it as an important part of their business strategy
28% see it as useful, but not important
And the majority of voters (66%) have seen results from using social media for business.
Social Media Platforms
A good mixture of platforms are being used by our readers, with Facebook and Twitter perhaps inevitably coming out on top, and the degree to which they are being used we think is reflected in people's opinions of which are easiest.
It looks as though familiarity based on personal use of sites like Facebook and Twitter translates into feeling comfortable with them in a business context.
Or perhaps there is something else about them that makes sites like these two easier to use?
LinkedIn 'Most Effective' Social Media Platform for Business Use
However, the results for our question about which is most effective for business use are different: LinkedIn was voted most effective.
In that respect, we are wondering whether this is a perception issue - is it more difficult to gauge the effectiveness of Facebook & Twitter (which then depends how you are measuring their effectiveness - is it numbers of connections, or leads, or sales?).
From the results to these initial questions, we can see that the effectiveness of different platforms in business use is an area we should cover in more detail.
What is it about LinkedIn that is working more effectively?
Because it is primarily for business, there is little or no overlap with non-work activities as there often is with Twitter and Facebook.
Considerations on Twitter and Facebook
How to make more effective use of Twitter and Facebook for a business, whether this can be achieved by setting specific goals in order to measure effectiveness, or focusing on their particular capabilities for business use - these are some of the things we plan to cover in future posts
