Ninety percent of marketers say that social media is important to their businesses, according to the 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report presented by Social Media Examiner. The survey asked more than 3,000 marketers about how social media has enhanced their internet marketing efforts, and the results speak to the overall rise of the channel.
The leading benefit of social media marketing is brand exposure, cited as a positive result by 88 percent of marketers. Increasing traffic to sites was another top advantage, with 72 percent saying they gained traffic and subscribers via social media outreach. (This could inspire marketers to share links to their site content across social networks, directing fans and followers to their websites.)