Posted by Jim Tobin

New data from a survey of 1,092 consumers by Opinion Research Corporation found that 85% of social media users thought companies should interact with them through social media. This is strong validation for social media marketing. Consumers, tired of being shouted at, are ok with properly managed social media marketing campaigns like those we do for our clients.

Emarketer reported the results of the study. Only 7% of people felt companies should not be in social media at all, while another 8% felt that it would be ok for companies to have a presence but not interact. (I’m not sure I really understand that perspective, but ok…). 51% felt that social media marketing was ok if the interaction was somewhat limited and the last 34% felt companies should go all in.

I can tell you first hand that companies are jumping into this space rapidly, but another survey puts some numbers on the trend. Online retailers are naturally early to the game, and a plurality are choosing Facebook, followed closely by MySpace and YouTube.

I’m glad consumers are accepting the early entries, even though some of the initial social media marketing examples have been a bit clumsy. My hope is that as professionals in this space, we continue to earn this trust by not turning this into spam.

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This entry was posted on Monday, October 27th, 2008 at 11:16 am and is filed under News. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

About the Author: Jim Tobin is president of Ignite Social Media, one of the nation's first dedicated social media agencies. With years of experience of marketing and public relations, Jim formed Ignite out of the need for businesses to better communicate with their customers through social media. Visit Ignite Social Media