Marketplace Today Blog

An Internet survey of Northeast Wisconsin media and business/community leaders just completed by Leonard & Finco Public Relations, Inc. had some surprising results.

The brief survey focused on each group’s use of social, or new, media such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The surveys targeted more than 150 journalists and more than 750 business and community leaders.

The news media is leading the way when it comes to social media use in business. Sixty-eight percent of the journalists say they find contacts and interviews through social media outlets and more than half generate story ideas and do background information gathering through social media. The top social media cited by Northeast Wisconsin media include: Facebook (76 percent), YouTube (62 percent), blogs (55 percent), LinkedIn (48 percent) and Twitter (45 percent). The three used most often for work are Facebook (76 percent), blogs (69 percent), Twitter (45 percent) and LinkedIn (31 percent).

While some businesses and community leaders do use social media for work, 44 percent responded they do not use social media at all. Of those who do use social media, they tend to use it to connect or communicate with others in the community or their industry (39 percent) or clients (31 percent) and to gather information or research specific topics (27 percent). Just 22 percent indicated they use social media to find or connect with potential new clients.

Of the social media used by area business and community leaders, LinkedIn has the biggest share of users at 66 percent. Facebook was second at 41 percent, followed by blogs and YouTube, both at 27 percent.

When asked if the use of social media has had a positive impact on their businesses, 51 percent answered they weren’t sure. Of those who answered it has had a positive impact (38 percent), most said it benefited their organization because of networking capabilities (79 percent), followed by increased marketing opportunities (39 percent) and improved client and customer relations (35 percent).

“With media immersed in communications every day, and tending to have a younger workforce, they are definitely embracing social media,” said Leonard & Finco Senior Account Executive Scott Stein. “However, we believe business and community leaders are taking a more cautious approach and want to see what the return on investment will be before they spend a lot of time or money on social media.”

“We believe, as social media becomes more mainstream and younger workers become business and community leaders, that dynamic will change,” said Leonard & Finco Senior Account Executive Cole Buergi. “Social media is definitely more than a trend, and smart business leaders realize they need to understand and begin using these communications options to reach out to their clients, customers and shareholders. It’s an educational process.”