41% of UK companies use social media to find new business
A global survey by Regus has shown that 41% of UK firms are using social media in order to increase their business – 8% up from last year.
The study found that more businesses are using social media to connect with existing customers, with 66% of UK survey respondents saying that without social media marking activities cannot hope to be successful.
It was also found that a third of companies used up to 20% of their marketing budget on social media projects, and half actively encourage their workforce to use business orientated sites such as LinkedIn.
Celia Donne, regional director at Regus says: “More and more companies are leveraging [social networking] not only to increase the loyalty of existing customers, but as a successful acquisition tool.
“As businesses emerge from the downturn they are increasingly reconsidering pre-recession working practices and opting for more flexible, competitive strategies.
“Among these, the use of business social media is proving extremely successful and suited to the fast pace of recovery.
“Particularly in the UK - where one in three social-network users are a fan, follower or friend of a company page or profile - firms should expect to see an increasing proportion of marketing budget being destined to this activity.”