Those companies that feel they have a firm grasp on how to use social media do not need the help of a firm to do it for them. However many companies do not know how to use social platforms effectively and utilize their advantages without the help of an expert. In addition, as you wrote in your comments on Mads post, social media is not only about opening a focus group. There are many other elements to social media strategy.

As I mentioned there, another point about doing all of this in an economic downturn is that you get an instant focus group of people who really care about your business and your brand. The best advice usually comes from those who love your brands so why not listen to the ready made focus group in social media versus hiring a firm to do that for you?

Makes sense to me just to talk to them where they already exist.

The numbers are interesting because it’s asking specifically about marketing profiles from companies on social networks. I’m guessing that replacing the word profile with ads in that question would NOT generate the same positive response. That proves that a lot of people are ready to communicate in a conversational way with the brands they love.