Are you using social media for online marketing yet?

Online marketing research company Knowledge Networks has found that 83% of the web surfers aged 13-54 participate in social media. A full 47% of those do so every week.

That's an interesting statistic, and implies every company seeking to use the Internet to win more business ought to be using social media. But in what capacity? Can you actually use social media to win business directly?

Knowledge Network's reports that a mere 16% of social media users said they were likely to buy from companies advertising in social media. Of course, this tells us nothing. What people say they'll do when isn't the same as what they actually do - especially when they encounter something they want.

There's no reason to believe social media sites are different to any other kind of site. If an ad offers something a person wants, they'll click on it.