Survey: RP Businesses take advantage of social networking sites

A growing number of people use social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter everyday, allowing businesses to take advantage of this development in Cyberspace. In the Philippines, over a third or 38 percent of businesses are allotting marketing budget solely to social networking activities, according to global workspace-solution provider Regus in a survey released Monday. "[The] survey has revealed that social networking has finally become a mainstream business tool. A significant proportion of firms are devoting real marketing budgets through the medium to acquire new customers and keep existing ones," said William Willems, regional vice president of Regus in Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. The survey said almost three-fourths or 72 percent of Philippine businesses use social networking to keep in touch with contacts. Almost half or 49 percent of local businesses, it added, had found employment through social networking sites. Regus said that 77 percent of Philippine businesses believe that the main usefulness of online social networks was the possibility of managing and connecting with costumer groups. "Whilst the most popular function of these networks remains that of keeping in touch with contacts, businesses are also successfully acquiring new customers, supporting their retention efforts and interacting with customer groups," Willems said. This survey, he said, indicates that organizations who have not yet ventured into the world of social networking may be missing out on sizeable business opportunities. Up to now, Regus said relatively little analysis is available regarding the real use businesses are making of social networking and whether hard business can be generated through this channel. —JE/VS, GMANews.TV