Large companies may not be slow-moving dinosaurs when it comes to social media marketing. ?According to a March 2013 study commissioned by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), a staggering?98 percent of companies have delved into some form of social media marketing campaign. ?Surveyors also discovered that ?70 percent of marketing executives believe social media has a positive impact on their business?.
Growth of Social Marketing
SIIA surveyed small businesses to large conglomerates with hundreds of millions in annual revenue. ?Given the executives? optimism, social media marketing should continue to see industry growth. ?Vendors will continue to offer innovative solutions to cater to corporate clients with large marketing budgets.
However, the study also shows differentiating features between company managers and casual users of social media. ?Most corporate marketers heavily gravitate towards LinkedIn. ?There are there are more than 2.6 million company pages on LinkedIn. ?In contrast, consumers are much more biased towards Facebook and Twitter.
SIIA?s report states, ?Given the large number of marketers in our survey that are targeting businesses, it?s no surprise that LinkedIn was again the channel where most survey respondents planned to increase the use of in 2013. Over 80 [percent] (up from 75 [percent] ?in 2011) of the companies planned on increasing the use of LinkedIn followed closely by Twitter at 70 [percent].?
Emergence of Mobile Platforms
When social media first emerged several years ago, usage was primarily confined to college students, urban young professionals, and early adopters. ?During those early periods, companies preferred to apply their advertising budgets towards traditional channels such as newspapers, television, and radio. ?Corporate professionals who ventured into the world of online advertising, such as Google AdWords, seemed to be pioneers in advanced ? and somewhat unproven ? forms of marketing.
In the past few years, companies have clearly found opportunities to reinforce their brand and Internet presence through social media. ?Most experts predict the campaigns will evolve to incorporate the emergence of mobile platforms which feature their own unique interface and applications. ?Since 2012, large automakers used video-sharing site YouTube to empower their campaigns to go viral on the Internet. ?Chrysler hired rapper Eminem to star in a Super Bowl commercial which cost at least $4 million per 30 seconds. ? The campaign got lasting power due to fans watching and sharing Chrysler?s ad on YouTube.
Preference for Multimedia
Video-sharing sites show the evolution of content on the Internet and social networks. ?In 2005, most users posted text-based content on their friends? Facebook walls. ?Twitter encouraged text confined to 140 characters. ?Last month, YouTube announced that it has surpassed more than one billion monthly users. ?Last month, it was disclosed that Yahoo! may buy video-site Dailymotion. ?Why? ?People are preferring multimedia content ? such as videos and photos ? over traditional text messages.
The implication is that companies will need to evolve with this change in customer preferences. ?SIIA?s study reports that ?YouTube has also gained a following with over half of the marketers expecting to increase its use.? ?It added, ?Many firms are now creating YouTube channels for the business as well as product categories. In 2011 we predicted that we would see new targeted social networks and marketplaces emerge and we see that with Google+ and Pinterest gaining some attention in 2012.?
Credit: Commons/Flickr
Measuring ROI
It should be noted that many small businesses and retailers prefer to stay close to their customers. ?That means confining their efforts to Facebook and Twitter where a regional mom and pop shop may have several thousand social media fans and followers. ?Most don?t have a large budget to initiate campaigns across dozens of social sites.
Case in point: Allied Marble, a regional installer of consumer stone products, maintains a common sense Facebook page that provides weekly updates of their construction projects. ? Frills doesn?t necessarily translate into leads. ?Often, customers simply want updates or samples of a contractor?s work. ?A neighborhood plumbing business can settle for wall posts and Twitter photos of their latest projects. ?People can then verify the contractor?s legitimacy as a niche operator.
In Australia, an April 2013 study shows that nearly 80 percent of the continent?s small businesses are planning to increase their presence on social media. ?Most are likely to run simple campaigns on limited budgets. ?However, they can still yield returns by generating leads in an affordable manner.
Companies are getting good at measuring the return on investment (ROI) of their social media campaigns. ??Nearly 74 [percent] of the businesses use web traffic as an indicator of social media ROI, up 14 [percent] from 2011. Meanwhile, over 60?[percent] of the respondents using social media marketing are using number of connections/conversations as a key ROI metric, also up almost 14?[percent] from 2011,? according to SIIA. ?The report adds, ? This suggests that some firms have found a way to correlate social media efforts to business leads. The number of qualified leads/conversions also ranks high with half (51?[percent]) of the companies.?
Investors want results. ?Therefore, managers want leads. ?By not using social networks and mobile platforms, companies risk becoming an isolated island in the middle of an interconnected world.
Marv Dumon covers current events and popular culture for several news sites. He previously worked in corporate finance and Six Sigma. Marv holds BA, BBA and MPA degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. | marvin.dumon@gmail.com
Source: http://www.moderndignity.com/study-most-companies-using-social-media-marketing/
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