I’m a huge believer in social media (shocking I know!) but as the industry continues to expand and the social media “bubble” continues to bloom people want proof to backup the statement that it indeed social media does work.  How you measure the sucess and ROI of social media may vary, but needless to say often ROI can be seen in things such as website referral traffic, lead generation, sales, and so much more.

A website I visit daily, Social Media Examiner released its fifth annual 2013 Social Media Marketing Industry Report back in May of 2013 which aimed to understand how marketers are using social media.   Over 3,000 marketers provided feedback, and some of the major findings are beyond powerful.  My top two findings from the report are below:

1) 86% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business, up from 83% in 2012.

2) Increased exposure is the top benefit of social media marketing: A significant 89% of marketers stated that increased exposure was the number one benefit of social media marketing.

Wishpond, a maker of online marketing tools, created an infographic which nicely illustrates the study’s results.  As social media marketing continues to grow, this 43-page report makes the benefits of social media and future planning easily digestible. The Infographic below really speaks for itself with the top benefits achieved in social media in 2013.

I found this report very valuable and insightful, check out the infographic and report and let me know what you think in the comments section below…

Happy Reading!

-MP