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Social networking has become a mainstream business tool. A new global survey commissioned by global workplace solutions provider Regus revealed that 35 percent of U.S. businesses have successfully used social networks to win new business, reinforcing the impact that social media has had on corporations. However the U.S. lags slightly behind the global average in this regard, with 40 percent of businesses globally having successfully leveraged social media tools for business development.

Up to now, relatively little analysis has been available regarding the real use businesses are making of social networking and whether true revenue potential can be generated through this channel. To glean whether businesses globally believe that social networking is ready to take its place among an array of marketing tools, the Regus survey asked business leaders not only whether they had achieved any customer wins using social networking, but also whether they believed the channel was effective enough to be awarded its own portion of marketing budget. Proving the faith businesses have in the social networking medium is seen in the revelation that more than a quarter of businesses worldwide (27 percent) have set aside a proportion of marketing budget specifically devoted to social networking activities.

Globally, social networks are still used for their original purposes. The most popular use of social networks is staying in touch with business contacts, with 58 percent of respondents globally declaring they use networks in this way. Joining special interest groups is also popular (54 percent). Although a number of sceptics (34 percent) believe social networking will never become a significant method of connecting to customers and prospects, 51 percent of companies globally organize, connect to or manage customer groups via social networks. Fifty four percent of firms use social networks to find useful business information. Surprisingly, however, only 22 percent of respondents had found new employment through social networking, in spite of the specific job search functions of networks such as LinkedIn.

To view the full survey report, please visit: http://www.regus.presscentre.com/Resource-Library/Social-Success-1cf.aspx