Regus said social networking has already become a "necessity" to the majority of the survey respondents -- 78 per cent of businesses in Hong Kong and 75 per cent around the world. The Regus study also noted that companies "agree that without social media activity, marketing strategies cannot hope to be successful".

Sixty-one per cent of Hong Kong firms encourage their employees to join social networks compared to only 53 per cent of companies worldwide.

Hans Leijten, regional vice president, Regus East Asia, said social media has become a core business tool as leverage "to increase the loyalty of existing customers, and as a successful acquisition tool for new business."

Hong Kong firms are also using other social media websites, such as local Weibo, a microblogging site similar to Twitter, and Xing, a professional networking site founded in Germany.