Survey: Social Software in Business
September 2009
Executive Summary
Mzinga and Babson Executive Education recently invited a number of participants to participate a survey examining social
software in business. The primary goal of the survey was to examine the adoption and current state of social technologies
in business, including how organizations are using social software to improve business processes such as productivity and
efficiency, cost reductions, innovation, and brand awareness.
The survey was conducted online from August 3-12, 2009 and drew more than 555 participants from a wide variety of
professional disciplines and industries including media, financial services, consulting, marketing, human resources,
engineering, and others.
The primary findings of the survey include:
 Social media continues to gain widespread adoption in key areas of business, but
challenges still exist
• More than 60% use social technologies in some form as an ongoing component of their business
• More than 55% of respondents say their business currently devotes employee resources (part-time or
full-time) to manage and drive their social media initiatives, while only 40% have also allocated
budget to those efforts
• Common challenges organizations are facing include senior leadership acceptance, defining program
strategies and goals, lack of dedicated resources, as well as lack of measurement and ROI tracking
 The types of social applications being used among businesses remains varied and broad,
but the majority are integrating social technologies within their corporate websites
• The majority of respondents report using vendor-provided solutions, while 26% have implemented
proprietary solutions and only 20% report using free or trial downloads
• The top five social application and technologies being used among respondents are: blogs, LinkedIn,
Facebook, virtual meetings, microblogs (e.g. Twitter), YouTube, chat, standalone community sites that
incorporate multiple social tools into one environment, and discussion forums
 Respondents are generally satisfied with the social technologies available to them, yet
few are currently measuring ROI regardless of the social applications they’re currently
using, which presents continued opportunities for vendors
 55% of respondents report that their current solutions are not lacking features or functions that they
wish they had
Social Software in Business Survey : Conducted by Babson Executive Education & Mzinga : September 2009

 79% of respondents are not currently measuring ROI in any for social media programs
 41% of respondents do not know if their current social tools used can measure ROI
Survey Results
The following charts and graphs summarize the survey responses:
1. Are you currently using social technologies for business purposes?
10% 4%
Yes
No
Other
86%
2. In what areas of your business are you using social technologies?
Marketing 57%
Internal Collaboration & Learning 39%
Other 31%
Customer Service & Support 29%
Sales 25%
Human Resources 21%
Strategy 16%
Product Development 14%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Social Software in Business Survey : Conducted by Babson Executive Education & Mzinga : September 2009

3. Which social applications or technologies are you currently using?
(The graphic below represents the top responses, removing common words such as and, the, of, for, to, etc.)
4. Please provide any additional details on how you are using these applications and technologies.
(The graphic below represents the top 20 terms used when respondents described how they used these applications,
removing common words such as and, the, of, for, to, etc.)
5. How are you deploying these applications today?
70%
60%
50%
40%
30% 61%
20% 39% 40%
10%
1% 7%
0%
Intranet Other As social As a Integrated
widgets from standalone within your
3rd party sites community website or
(Facebook, site(s) other sites
etc.)
Social Software in Business Survey : Conducted by Babson Executive Education & Mzinga : September 2009

6. Are you using a vendor-provided, proprietary or a free/trial solution?
Vendor‐provided solution? 39%
Proprietary solution? 26%
Free or trial solution? 20%
Other 18%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
(The graphic below represents the most common terms used when respondents provided details the applications they
are currently using, removing common words such as and, the, of, for, to, etc.)
7. Are social technologies used as an ongoing component of your business, or is use primarily on a case-
by-case basis (for events, campaigns, etc.)?
8% 4%
Ongoing component
of my business
28% Case‐by‐case basis
61%
I don't use social
technologies
Other
Social Software in Business Survey : Conducted by Babson Executive Education & Mzinga : September 2009

8. Do you dedicate any budget dollars or employee resources to your social media initiatives?
70%
60%
60%
57%
50%
40% 43%
40% Budget
30%
Employees
20%
10%
0%
Yes No
9. What were the biggest challenges you faced in implementing social media?
(The graphic below represents the most common terms used when respondents provided details about the most
common challenges they face, removing common words such as and, the, of, for, to, etc.)
Social Software in Business Survey : Conducted by Babson Executive Education & Mzinga : September 2009

10. How do you measure your social media programs?
(The graphic below represents the most common terms used when respondents provided details about how they
currently measure social media programs, removing common words such as and, the, of, for, to, etc.)
11. Do you currently measure ROI for your social media programs?
16%
Yes
84%
No
12. Is your social technology provider or application able to showcase your ROI?
8%
44% Yes
No
41%
Other
I don't know
7%
Social Software in Business Survey : Conducted by Babson Executive Education & Mzinga : September 2009

13. Is there a function/feature that you don’t have but wish you had on your social platform?
18% 27%
Yes
No
Other
55%
About this survey
This survey was conducted online from August 3-12, 2009, and drew with more than 555 participants from a wide variety of
professional disciplines and industries including media, financial services, consulting, marketing, human resources,
engineering and others.
Conducted in collaboration with Babson Executive Education, the survey findings will be used in support of a new
professional education program designed to help senior managers develop and implement social business strategies, new
human capital policies and business processes for success in today’s increasingly socially enabled world.
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About Babson Executive Education
Babson Executive Education is ranked among the world’s best executive education providers. Organizations across the
globe and from key industries choose Babson for progressive and flexible solutions that leverage the global business and
teaching expertise of faculty, industry experts, and partners. Babson Executive Education’s client-centric solutions include a
strategic blend of education, consulting, coaching, and research to enable Clients to analyze challenges, develop solutions,
and implement strategies to meet their goals. For more information, visit: www.babson.edu/bee.
About Mzinga
Mzinga is the leading provider of social software solutions and services for marketing, customer support and learning.
Through a combination of enterprise-class technology, strategy and online moderation services, Mzinga social solutions
enable businesses to increase revenue and lower costs by improving brand visibility, workplace satisfaction, and customer
loyalty. Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, Mzinga services more than 1 billion monthly page requests from 40
million unique visitors in 160 countries worldwide. To learn more about Mzinga, visit www.mzinga.com or contact us at
888.MZINGA.8.
© 2009 Mzinga, Inc. and Babson Executive Education