This from a just-published report by Eric Mattson and Professor Nora Barnes from the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. They surveyed a representative (+/-3%) segment of the Inc. 500, a list of the U.S’s fastest growing private companies compiled by Inc. Magazine. 26% said that social media is (are?) “very important” to their business marketing strategy. Here are the rates of usage for various social media:
33% message or bulletin boards
27% social networking
24% online video
19% blogging
17% wikis
11% podcasting (which is the only figure that actually dovetails with use. A recent Pew American Life report showed 12% of U.S. Internet users have downloaded a podcast).
You can read the executive summary of the report here
This is great news, Maggie! The numbers are still on the low side, but that means more opportunity for evangelists like you and me.