Survey: Social Software in Business

Executive Summary Mzinga and Babson Executive Education recently invited a number of participants to participate a survey examining social software in business. The primary goal of the survey was to examine the adoption and current state of social technologies in business, including how organizations are using social software to improve business processes such as productivity and efficiency, cost reductions, innovation, and brand awareness. The survey was conducted online from August 3-12, 2009 and drew more than 555 participants from a wide variety of professional disciplines and industries including media, financial services, consulting, marketing, human resources, engineering, and others. The primary findings of the survey include:

Social media continues to gain widespread adoption in key areas of business, but challenges still exist

• More than 60% use social technologies in some form as an ongoing component of their business

• More than 55% of respondents say their business currently devotes employee resources (part-time or full-time) to manage and drive their social media initiatives, while only 40% have also allocated budget to those efforts

• Common challenges organizations are facing include senior leadership acceptance, defining program strategies and goals, lack of dedicated resources, as well as lack of measurement and ROI tracking

The types of social applications being used among businesses remains varied and broad, but the majority are integrating social technologies within their corporate websites

• The majority of respondents report using vendor-provided solutions, while 26% have implemented proprietary solutions and only 20% report using free or trial downloads

• The top five social application and technologies being used among respondents are: blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, virtual meetings, microblogs (e.g. Twitter), YouTube, chat, standalone community sites that incorporate multiple social tools into one environment, and discussion forums

Respondents are generally satisfied with the social technologies available to them, yet few are currently measuring ROI regardless of the social applications they’re currently using, which presents continued opportunities for vendors

55% of respondents report that their current solutions are not lacking features or functions that they wish they had

Survey: Social Software in Business September 2009

Social Software in Business Survey : Conducted by Babson Executive Education & Mzinga : September 2009

79% of respondents are not currently measuring ROI in any for social media programs

41% of respondents do not know if their current social tools used can measure ROI

Survey Results The following charts and graphs summarize the survey responses: 1. Are you currently using social technologies for business purposes?

2. In what areas of your business are you using social technologies?

86%

10% 4%

Yes

No

Other

14%

16%

21%

25%

29%

31%

39%

57%

Product Development

Strategy

Human Resources

Sales

Customer Service & Support

Other

Internal Collaboration & Learning

Marketing

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%


3. Which social applications or technologies are you currently using? (The graphic below represents the top responses, removing common words such as and, the, of, for, to, etc.)

4. Please provide any additional details on how you are using these applications and technologies. (The graphic below represents the top 20 terms used when respondents described how they used these applications, removing common words such as and, the, of, for, to, etc.)

5. How are you deploying these applications today?

1% 7%

39% 40%

61%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Intranet Other As social widgets from 3rd party sites (Facebook,

etc.)

As a standalone community

site(s)

Integrated within your website or other sites


6. Are you using a vendor-provided, proprietary or a free/trial solution?

(The graphic below represents the most common terms used when respondents provided details the applications they are currently using, removing common words such as and, the, of, for, to, etc.)

7. Are social technologies used as an ongoing component of your business, or is use primarily on a case-by-case basis (for events, campaigns, etc.)?

18%

20%

26%

39%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Other

Free or trial solution?

Proprietary solution?

Vendor‐provided solution?

61%

28%

8% 4%Ongoing component of my business

Case‐by‐case basis

I don't use social technologies

Other


8. Do you dedicate any budget dollars or employee resources to your social media initiatives?

9. What were the biggest challenges you faced in implementing social media? (The graphic below represents the most common terms used when respondents provided details about the most common challenges they face, removing common words such as and, the, of, for, to, etc.)

40%

60%57%

43%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Yes No

Budget

Employees


10. How do you measure your social media programs? (The graphic below represents the most common terms used when respondents provided details about how they currently measure social media programs, removing common words such as and, the, of, for, to, etc.)

11. Do you currently measure ROI for your social media programs?

12. Is your social technology provider or application able to showcase your ROI?

16%

84%Yes

No

8%

41%

7%

44% Yes

No

Other

I don't know


13. Is there a function/feature that you don’t have but wish you had on your social platform?

About this survey This survey was conducted online from August 3-12, 2009, and drew with more than 555 participants from a wide variety of professional disciplines and industries including media, financial services, consulting, marketing, human resources, engineering and others. Conducted in collaboration with Babson Executive Education, the survey findings will be used in support of a new professional education program designed to help senior managers develop and implement social business strategies, new human capital policies and business processes for success in today’s increasingly socially enabled world.

# # # About Babson Executive Education Babson Executive Education is ranked among the world’s best executive education providers. Organizations across the globe and from key industries choose Babson for progressive and flexible solutions that leverage the global business and teaching expertise of faculty, industry experts, and partners. Babson Executive Education’s client-centric solutions include a strategic blend of education, consulting, coaching, and research to enable Clients to analyze challenges, develop solutions, and implement strategies to meet their goals. For more information, visit: www.babson.edu/bee. About Mzinga Mzinga is the leading provider of social software solutions and services for marketing, customer support and learning. Through a combination of enterprise-class technology, strategy and online moderation services, Mzinga social solutions enable businesses to increase revenue and lower costs by improving brand visibility, workplace satisfaction, and customer loyalty. Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, Mzinga services more than 1 billion monthly page requests from 40 million unique visitors in 160 countries worldwide. To learn more about Mzinga, visit www.mzinga.com or contact us at 888.MZINGA.8. © 2009 Mzinga, Inc. and Babson Executive Education

27%

55%

18%

Yes

No

Other

Technology

Survey: Social Software in Business