Social media non-believers in your law firm? Here's proof social media works.

Having a problem with the social media non-believers in your law firm? You know, lawyers and other professionals who just can’t visualize how social media could be applied to what they do.

Courtesy of Natalie Sisson at Forbes.com, here’s proof of how social media has helped businesses.

• 81% Generated exposure for their business.
• 61% Increased subscriber/traffic/opt-in list.
• 56% Resulted in new business partnerships.
• 52% Increased search engine rankings.
• 48% Generated qualified leads.
• 45% Reduced overall marketing expenses.
• 35% Closed more business.

Want more? Recent statistics on social media users show:

• 33% visit social media sites to engage in product research before making a purchasing decision.
• 47% say social media sites influence their decision to purchase specific companies services & brands.
• 26% of respondents changed their minds about purchasing a product after reading about it on a social media site.

When your asked about the source of these statistics. They’re from the Social Media Examiner 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report (pdf).