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Where Are You in Social Media Adoption Curve?

Written by: Bernie Borges

Article Overview: As I inch closer to publishing my new book Marketing 2.0, I continue to observe the wide spectrum of early adopters and those who have heard about this social media stuff but haven’t bought into it yet.

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Where Are You in Social Media Adoption Curve?

I started thinking about the past 30 years. We’ve seen the birth of the internet initially for a defense related application, then Mosaic gave rise to a graphical user interface for non-technical users. This gave birth to the browser and websites. Websites have evolved from plain text to visually appealing corporate calling cards. Along came high speed internet access, content subscriptions through RSS, blogs and more recently social networks.

I’ve just covered 30 years in one paragraph…Wow! Now, if you’re reading this and you don’t have a LinkedIn or Facebook profile you’re probably in the minority.

But, how strategic is social media marketing to your business? Marketing Sherpa recently conducted research called the 2009 Social Media Marketing and PR Benchmark Guide.

* Approximately 70% of the businesses surveyed agreed that social media marketing was changing the way they communicate.
* Approximately 48% were adding budget for social media marketing, mostly increased staff allocation (time).
* The biggest barrier to implementing social media strategies (46%) was lack of knowledge.

Marketing Sherpa Lack of Knowledge Biggest BarrierThese findings tell me that most people talking about social media are those of us who write about, blog about, speak aboud and consult on social media strategies. Sure, there are many great examples of businesses and even not-for-profits using social media strategies.

But, it’s the tip of the iceberg. I’m of the opinion that social media strategies have not gone mainstream yet. The weak economy adds to the level of risk most businesses are willing to accept.

However, I’m also of the opinion that businesses who put off a social media strategy are at bigger risk. Buyers are more powerful than ever. They are engaging on the social web. Marketers who are absent from the conversations (engagements) are missing out.

Where do you think social media strategies are in the adoption curve?

Bernie Borges
@berniebay

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Article Tags: benchmark guide, birth of the internet, borges, calling cards, graphical user interface, high speed internet, high speed internet access, knowledge marketing, lack of knowledge, linkedin, marketing sherpa, media strategies, media strategy, social networks, social web, staff allocation, technical users, tip of the iceberg, web marketers, websites websites

About the Author: Bernie Borges
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Bernie Borges is the Chief Find Officer of Find and Convert, a web marketing agency specializing in search engine optimization and social media strategies serving clients nationwide. Bernie is an author, speaker, blogger, podcaster, husband and father. His book: Marketing 2.0 is coming out in June 2009. Bernie is a native of New York, N.Y, and resides in Palm Harbor, Florida with his wife Jean and daughter Amanda and son Derek.

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