That's right! We have been telling you that for a while and you were probably thinking it was more hype. But now there are some good statistics to back it up...DON'T GET LEFT BEHIND.

According to a social media study by Michael Stelzner for the Social Media Success Summit 2009, 88% of marketers in a recent survey say they are now using some form of social media to market their business, though 72% of those using it say they have only been at it a few months or less.

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Key survey findings about specific application show that:

• Small-business owners are more likely to use LinkedIn than employees working for a corporation
• Men are significantly more likely to use YouTube or other video marketing than women (52.4% of all men compared with 31.7% of women)
• For those just getting under way with social media marketing, LinkedIn is ranked as their number-two choice, pushing blogging down one notch
• Among those who have been using social media for a few months, Facebook is in second place. This group also has more Twitter use
• Twitter is used by 94% of marketers who have been using social media for years, followed closely by blogs. This group also endorses online video significantly more than the other groups

72% of marketers say they have either just started or have been using social media for only a few months.

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The largest group just getting under way with social media marketing are sole proprietors, with 30.2% reporting just getting started, the survey found. Owners of businesses with 2-100 employees were the most experienced, with 29.3% reporting doing social media marketing for years.
64% of marketers are using social media for five hours or more each week, with 39% using it 10 or more hours weekly and 9.6% spending more than 20 hours each week with social media.

• Those working for a company are twice as likely as business owners to be committing 20+ hours a week to social media
• 44.8% of those aged 30-39 old spend 10+ hours weekly using social media marketing
• 40.3% of 20-to-29 year-olds spend 10+ hours weekly
• 38.7%  of 50-to-59 year-olds spend 10+ hours weekly

According to the survey, 81% of all marketers indicate that their social media efforts have generated exposure for their businesses.

At least two in three participants found that increased website traffic occurred with as little as 6 hours a week invested in social media marketing.

Given the low cost of social media as a marketing tool (usually not much more than some staff time and maybe some strategy planning, basic design work or outsourced setup) this is a strategy every business can afford and should be considering.

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Owners of small businesses with 2 - 100 employees are more likely than others to report benefits.

Half of participants reported that a major benefit of social media marketing is the resultant rise in search engine rankings that often comes with increased efforts.

Improved search engine rankings were most prevalent among those who've been using social media for years, with nearly 80% reporting a rise.

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When marketers were asked which social media tools they most want to learn more about, social bookmarking sites slightly edged out Twitter as the number one response, with a four-way tie for third place between LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Facebook and Digg/Reddit/Mixx.

The evidence is mounting. If you don't already, you need to start understanding new media and discovering what opportunities there are to cost effectively take advantage of them for your business, your brand, even your personal brand.