During December, we surveyed Professional Services Advisers on the topic of Social Media.  Let's look at some of the key results.

Website

The results from 62 Professional Service Advisers are summarised below. Amazingly almost 10 per cent of those surveyed stated that their company still does not have a website. Perhaps this is due to the fact that those companies to do see the value in the expenditure of creating and maintaining a website. There are hundreds of reasons of why you should have a website, here are just five.

1. Your competitor has one! People refer to the internet as the first source of information, so chances are, if you have a website new potential customers will find you.
2. Creating and maintaining a website is much easier and cheaper than you think. The cost has significantly reduced and that quote you received a few years ago will be much less now.
3. Most people expect that any professionally run business will have a web site. With a well-designed site you can make an impressive first impression; thus potential new business.
4. Referrals. Referrals are a number one way for small businesses to get new clients. Yet often, after being referred to you, those people will next check out your website.  A lack of any website can stop an otherwise great referral in its tracks.
5. Create a New Customer Base. Many people are turning to the internet rather than the traditional sources of information (newspapers, yellow pages, etc). With a web site you will be able to reach a whole new segment of potential clients that may have missed your current ad campaigns. A good, informative web site will attract many people who may not have heard of you otherwise.

Table 1: Does your business have…

LinkedIn

The power of LinkedIn – 59.7 per cent surveyed said that they have a personal LinkedIn account.  LinkedIn started as a recruitment site, but now is much more.  LinkedIn has evolved into a Professional networking, business development, group discussions, personal branding and information sharing site  In fact, many of the LinkedIn discussion groups offer very robust discussions of key topics and can be a great resource.

With over 135 million registered users currently on LinkedIn and two joining every second it will be interesting to see the same question answered in 12 months’ time.   It gives thought to the old adage that it’s not what you know it’s who you know.

Listening In

When reviewing the below results it is interesting to note that over 35 per cent of those survey did not believe that their client base used Social Media (22 per cent say it’s just a fad).  Yet, 75.8 per cent say they would use it more if they had more training and understood it. So, perhaps the first takeaway, is that many Professionals may not yet have gotten their head around the entire concept of Social Media.  Given most Social Media tools don’t come with an instruction manual and the average Twitter post can look like a random assortment of letters, this probably isn’t too surprising.

Also interesting it that 66.1% believe it is an important component of Business Development, yet only 19.3% have seen a measurable impact on their business from Social Media. Thus demonstrating a significant gap in results vs activity.

If we put these two ideas together, there is clearly a gap between usage and outcomes.  However, here’s something to think about right now:  While actively contributing via Social Media may still be a development idea for future (until more of your Clients use it or your have more training), at the very least you should be actively listening to Social Media – to clients, competitors, regulators and the press.  Remember, it’s not just about what you are saying…its equally about what others are saying about you.

Table 2: Do you agree or disagree with the following comments…