According to a social media study 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. In addition, the survey found that 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 traffic occurred with as little as 6 hours a week invested in social media marketing.

Key survey findings about specific applications show that:
•  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.

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.