The results of 15 minutes media's Professional Social Media Use Survey are in and the responses are revealing.

For the past two weeks, we've been asking businesses of all sizes about their use of and thoughts about social media. Eighty individuals participated in the survey from a wide variety of industries including educational institutions, communications and marketing companies, a hair salon, musicians, a comedy venue, a wholesale florist, medical practices, a wedding facility, a clothing company, a law firm and more.

We're excited to share the results with you. Please feel free to comment and share your own thoughts about using social media for marketing. You can skip ahead to the results or read through my summary below.

Many of you posted excellent questions. We intend to address each of these questions in upcoming blog posts. Over the next few weeks, we will be posting informative articles, how-to guides, videos and learning opportunities to help you create an effective social media strategy and the tools to track it. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed.

THE RESULTS

When asked to describe their current use of social media use, no one responded "I do not currently use social media for my business and do not plan to in the future." By now, everyone seems to understand that social media is a necessary addition to the marketing mix.

Interestingly, despite the fact that 87.5% of respondents are already using social media for business and 10% consider themselves an expert, only one person said they feel completely on top of their game. Daily management and content development proved to be the most overwhelming aspects of social media for our respondents. I can certainly understand. Most of us have limited resources. Spending hours a day on Twitter just is not an option. That's why it's so important to have a solid social media strategy. Choosing the right tools and planning how you will use them in advance will help you stay on top of your social media effectively and productively.

View the full results here.

While many of the responses were in line with our expectations, I was surprised to see how many businesses are actively using social media without any strategy or measurement tools in place. While I give kudos to any organization using social media tools, it's easy to see why so many people are frustrated. Without a plan, there is no clear direction. Coming up with content on the fly and keeping track of networks will quickly become overwhelming.

Measurement is just as important. Most business owners meticulously track sales numbers, expenses and the effects of their offline marketing, but when it comes to social media, very few business owners know if it's actually working. How do you measure success or return on investment or effort if you have no reporting tools in place? Measuring specific results will also help you to determine the strengths and weaknesses of your strategy and allow you to refine it accordingly.

We help many of our clients understand how to make social media work for them. While each client is unique, there are some general guidelines and rules. We will share tips as well as step-by-step instructions in the coming weeks. If you would like a more personalized approach, please give us a call at 718-768-3844 to get started.

Let's keep the conversation going. Share your experiences with social media in the comments.

Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter, subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Twitter and "Like" us on Facebook.