The survey ran from 1st to 30th November 2010 and was answered by companies within the Yorkshire Region. The aim of the survey was to understand how different sized companies in  Yorkshire are using social media in their business and what return on investment they see from the campaigns. Download PDF from slideshare

The main difference is how SME versus Large companies are using social media in their businesses.  Smaller and medium businesses (1 – 49 employees) feel that social media has be responsible for creating or helping create sales or new business.   LinkedIn is a more important business tool to small businesses which is reflected in the fact that more of the key people within a small business are promoting themselves on LinkedIn compared to a medium or large organisations. Whereas larger companies (50+ employees) are not promoting  as much on LinkedIn, nor are their key people actively using LinkedIn.

Companies are using tools such as blogs, Twitter and LinkedIn more than video content (YouTube). Which makes sense as there is more investment required to creating a professional video compared to setting up a blog.

Companies overall are using social media to boost their PR activity with 75% respondents said social media had been responsible for creating positive PR about the company and 40% saying social media had helped mitigate any PR problems.

Companies are  promoting their social media sites on their websites with 55% respondents are linking their social profiles online on the home page of their website and 30% saying they have a dedicated page on their site for ‘community’ aspects, which sign-post people to the various sites.
This research paints a picture that Yorkshire companies that are engaged with social media as a key business tool are finding social media helps create or contribute to finding new business. Companies are also using social media to boost their PR activities and feel that social media has helped mitigate PR problems.

Charlotte Britton, MD Optimum Exposure says ‘Social Media is becoming a core part of the marketing mix.  Companies that are adopting the technologies and techniques are creating a competitive advantage for themselves as more people are using sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs. Companies need to understand the objectives and metrics for success before embarking on any activity, so they know what success looks like as the campaign grows’

What do you think?  How do you use Social Media in your business?