Social media offers "long-term" online direct marketing gains

Some businesses have yet to invest any of their marketing spend on social media, with many citing problems of engagement as the main reason for their reluctance to invest, research has shown.
Research from Econsultancy´s Social Media and Online PR report published in November shows that one-third of businesses are not planning to boost spending on social media in 2010.
The study also revealed that micro-blogging (eg Twitter) is now the most widely adopted social media tactic, used by 78 per cent of company respondents.

Jason Falls, a social media consultant and blogger on socialmediaexplorer.com, said that businesses´ reluctance to spend on social media was not rooted in concerns about cost but more so about what they would get back in return.

"In general, you´ll spend way less money on social media executions than you would on print or television advertising, direct mail and so on," he said, adding that businesses should "remember that social media done well is about building relationships with online consumers."

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