Everywhere you look you will read about what social media can do for your business. A recent report from Pew Internet & American Life Foundation reminds us that organic search results and print media are still the places where most people are looking for information about local businesses. Social media may or may not be the marketing media of the future and it should certainly be put to the test. But local businesses neglecting their search rankings, do so at their peril.

The hype these days is certainly all about social. All over the place, reports and articles are telling us that many businesses 'rely' on social media for their advertising. This is simply not true. More and more businesses are trying out social media and adding it to their portfolio. Many are finding it effective in conjunction with the other channels they use. Few, if any, rely on it.

1,000s of 'Likes' and 10s of 1,000s of 'Followers'? Great! Definitely worth it, not least because in conjunction with citations and reviews, Google likes it. But ask these questions:

• How many visits are they bringing you?
• How many leads?
• How many sales?

And the most important one:

• How did the 'buyers' first find you?

Pew Internet & American Life Foundation give us some very useful information. The report results from a telephone survey of 2,251 adults over 18, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from January 12 to 25, 2011.

Finding restaurants, bars and clubs

Internet - 51%

• Search engines - 38%
• Speciality websites - 17%
• Social media - 3%

Newspapers - 31%

• Printed copies - 26%
• Online copies - 5%

Word of mouth - 26%

Local TV - 8%

Finding local businesses

Internet - 47%

• Search engines - 36%
• Speciality websites - 16%
• Social media - 1%

Newspapers - 30%

• Printed copies - 29%
• Online copies - 2%

Local TV - 8%

Local radio - 5%

The numbers for social media are very low indeed. One area of possible confusion is the use of the term 'word of mouth' as some consider social media a form of word of mouth. However I checked the way that questions were presented and it seems that word of mouth was sufficiently distinguished from online activity to accept these figures as referring to actual word of mouth.

So the only conclusion possible here is that social media activity for a business is more important for the affect it is having on your search results than for actual advertising of your services. That being said, it is important not to neglect the subliminal awareness created by the likes of social media activity and for that matter local TV and Radio advertising. All of whose affect is probably underestimated by these figures.

Many of those surveyed reported use of a variety of sources.

This is something we are passionate about here. Don't ever put all your eggs in one basket. AND. Don't ever give up your own piece of online real-estate. Your website is your hub, your centre. It is yours. Engage with every other useful platform. Get it to point back at your website. Let them come and go as they will. Your website will still be there to engage with what comes next.