Social Media Marketing Isn’t Going Anywhere!
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If you thought social media marketing was slowing down or losing steam; think again! Things have been heating up, new corners are being turned, new pillars being built. Statistics have shown us that social media is still making a huge impact as a marketing tool. And there are things that you need to learn, as a professional marketer, to be effective in this arena!
Although social media marketing hasn’t slowed, it has changed. The tides turn every month in this market, in this day and age of the consumer. People have infinite options, so people are constantly exploring those options. What was high and mighty one month is replaced in the next, and new sites, apps and networks are being built everyday. It’s time to get our hands dirty again with social media marketing, and to re-learn and master it’s ever-changing structure.
Before we start, let’s dive into some studies on recent social media usage for marketing campaigns (compared to a few years back.)
- 92% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business – up from 86% in 2013.
- 68% of marketers plan on increasing their use of blogging, making it the top area marketers will invest in for 2014.
- 54% of marketers are using Google+, 65% want to learn more about it and 61% plan on increasing Google+ activities in 2014.
As you can see, social media marketing has caught on even more so than when it was first introduced to the world. People understand it’s a strength in reaching online communities. That’s where most audiences lie, so most marketers want to learn how to get there. But it hasn’t proven to be the easiest of tasks, as the online world is constantly changing, and many people are still trying to understand it’s basics. But that doesn’t keep their interest from being spiked, and their ambition from exploding.
Just as there are exciting new things happening in social media, there are also questions being raised.
How effective is Facebook, really?
When forced to only select one platform, 54% of marketers selected Facebook, followed by LinkedIn at 17%. However, only 34% of marketers (slightly more than one in three) think that their Facebook efforts are effective.
Only 6% of marketers are involved with podcasting, yet 21% plan on increasing their podcasting activities in 2014 a more than threefold increase and 28% of marketers want to learn more about it.
One thing everyone whose experimented with social media marketing can agree on: Original written content is imperative. 58% of marketers stated that original written content is the single most important form of content, followed by original visual assets (19%).
So, it’s apparent that social media marketing is still alive and kickin. But what’s not apparent is how it’s going to progress. What is going to be alive and kicking in the next month, and what will die off?
Also apparent is the issue of figuring it all out. With trends and tastes and preferences constantly fluctuating, social media seems nearly impossible to navigate. Here is what most marketers agree upon:
Campaigns that engage will stand out.
But that’s about it. Everything else remains elusive. All other answers are in the air, because that’s really how the internet works. Marketers want to know which tools are most effective, how they measure the return on their campaigns, how they should manage their campaign and how they can find their target audience online. But there is no certainty when it comes to social media. It is as unpredictable as the people working those computers behind it. Which is a great thing for consumers, but it’s a little frightening for marketers invested in such a fluid platform.
Here is what we do know. There are trends and tools and management systems that work, and all you’ve got to do is find the right people to work them. It is a quick field, and you need people to help you navigate the minute by minute changes that can sometimes occur with social media. We are delighted to share with you the information we have, but we’d be even more delighted to work with you. Check back in with our blog next week for more statistics regarding specific social media, or, if you’d like to take the plunge right now, click below to contact us and start building a foolproof social media strategy today.
July 29, 2017
