BizSugar.com › Products and Services › Beyond the Buzz, Social Media Is a Business Decision

Social media, in all of its forms, impacts our lives as consumers from the things we buy, to where we go, to what we like, and overall how we share this information with one another. Today, this influence is moving from the consumer realm into the workplace where almost 90 percent of B2B organizations are either maintaining or increasing their social media spending, according to HubSpot's 2010 "The State of Inbound Marketing." That's an indication that more and more businesses are making their social media efforts a priority. So what is the key to success in social media? The answer lies in how social media is implemented and strategically integrated into the business.For organizations large and small, the choice to engage in social media is not a casual activity. Innovation and the ability to master social media technologies to be proactive are the keys to success in today's business landscape. A 2009 McKinsey survey found that 69 percent of surveyed companies gained measurable business benefits – including product innovation, more effective marketing spend, better access to knowledge, lower cost, and higher revenues - from social media initiatives. Furthermore, B2B companies that spend half or more of their marketing and communications budget on social media activities experience a 60 percent lower cost-per-lead than those that focus on traditional activities, according to HubSpot's report.