Sixty-six percent of Inc. 500 see social media as important

One thing about those of us in the socia media sphere is that we’re often accused of being drunk on the Kool-Aid.  Sure blogs, podcasts, social networks, and video are cool, but are real companies into them?  Turns out, yeah they are.  A study done by folks at UMass (link to PDF of the report) shows that the Inc. 500 are aware of the pillars of social media and think they are important.

• 42% know about social networking
• 38% know about message boards
• 36% know about blogs and blogging

But what are these companies specifically using in terms of social media?  Here is a brief breakdown:

• 33% are utilizing message boards
• 27% are utilizing social networking (linkedin, etc.)
• 24% are utilizing video in some format (Vlogs, online videos, ads, etc.)
• 19% are utilizing a company blog (this is the most surprising stat for me, you would think more people would realize the amazing SEO potential here by now

Another interesting tidbit is that 66% of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. stated that social media is either “very important” or “somewhat important” to their overall marketing strategy.
Source: Social Media Invades Inc. 500 | WebProNews

Okay, “somewhat important” isn’t a glowing recomendation, but it’s an important step.  Message boards’ popularity shows where the comfort zone is.  Message boards are pretty standard and, relatively, old school, but a forum is a fabulous place to help users with their questions and problems.  Doesn’t replace a good blog for raising your company’s profile online, but it is a great step towards openness.

Maybe the central question for us as service providers is, what is the best solution to offer clients?  For a software company, I would do the forum and blog option.  Other service folks, a blog.  Video and social networking sites?  Well video can be fun, but hard to find great applications.  Social networking sites?  While popular I still approach them with caution.  A lot of social rules and dynamics that are easy to run afoul of.

What’s you take on this study?  Hot or not?