Social Media’s 2013 Status Update

Social media is just a sliver of your business’ marketing strategy.

But hey, that sliver is quickly becoming a bigger chunk.

Social Media Examiner’s 2013 Social Media Marketing Industry Report discovered just that. The study surveyed over three thousand marketers to find out how they are currently using social media—and what they plan to do in the future—to grow their businesses.

What was the overarching theme? Social media is becoming increasingly important as a marketing tool, and if you don’t act now, you could miss out on some big opportunities this year.

But since you may not have time to read the entire report (because you’re out there focusing on how to increase your organization’s bottom line), here are 6 highlights you need to know going forward in 2013:
 

1. Take a tactical approach

90% of marketers want to know which social tactics work best—the number one question that marketers want answered. The report attributes this to the constant changes that take place across the many social networks.

Amid these changes, it is important to pinpoint some of the most effective tactics to ensure that marketers are not squandering their limited resources.

Since so many marketers are looking for the best tactics, some great resources have emerged to help provide solutions:

• 7 Actionable Social Media Tactics to Rock Your Marketing Plans (via Heidi Cohen)
• Which Social Media Marketing Tactics Work Best (via eMarketer)
• 39 Awesome Tools Awesome Tools and Resources for Blogging and Social Media Marketing (via Business2Community)
• Social Media Work Flow [Infographic] (via McMURRY/TMG)
• 21 Social Media Marketing Tips from the Pros (via Social Media Examiner)

2. Keep an eye on future trends

With regard to what’s in store for the future of social media, the report highlighted some key areas of growth:

69% of marketers plan to increase their use of YouTube.

Although this number is down from 76% in 2012, it’s still the top area where marketers plan to expand their social media efforts. This is likely a function of the immense popularity of the video-sharing platform. With over a billion unique visitors each month, it’s no wonder that many marketers see it as the most effective way to reach new customers.

Still wondering if YouTube is worth your investment of time and resources? Maybe these amazing YouTube success stories can push you off the fence.

My personal favorite of these stories? I love how even a prestigious and well-known school such as Berklee College of Music was able to enroll hundreds of new students from more than 40 different countries into its online music program—all as a result of leads generated directly from its YouTube channel. It’s a great example of the reach and brand extension that can be achieved with a little bit of time invested in a solid YouTube strategy.

The second major finding with regard to the future was…

24% of marketers plan to increase podcasting activities.

Don’t let this small percentage make this platform seem insignificant. Currently only 5% of marketers are involved in podcasting.

What does this mean? There’s a lot of room for growth.

The study attributes this nearly five-fold increase in interest to three key occurrences:

1. The emergence of more than one billion smartphone users.
2. Apple’s introduction of a mobile app dedicated to podcasting, and
3. Major auto manufacturers integrating streaming audio players into some of their new models.

Considering this is new territory for about 95% of marketers, there will likely be a steep learning curve with this tactic. However, those who adopt it sooner than their competitors may have the upper hand down the road.

3. Facebook is still the favorite among marketers

When asked to select the single most important network, 49% of marketers chose Facebook. The world’s largest social network may be reaching maturity, but is still held in high regard by consumers and marketers alike. But does the fact that everyone is doing it mean it’s producing the desired results?

The study’s next takeaway delves a bit deeper into this figure…

4. Everyone’s doing it, but is it effective?

Despite the fact that about half of marketers believe Facebook to be the single most important social network to their business and 92% are actively using the social network, only 37% think that their Facebook efforts are effective:

Interestingly, the study found that B2C marketers were about 15% more likely than B2B marketers to say that their Facebook efforts are effective and large businesses were more likely to agree with this statement as well.

Don’t let the disparity between B2B and B2C fool you, though, there are numerous benefits to both approaches—the benefits are simply different. Most notably, B2B marketers tend to focus more on lead generation, relationship building, and smaller audiences, while B2C marketers focus on direct sales, responding to customer feedback, and much larger audiences.

These differences help create this disparity. It is much easier to measure and track things such as sales and engagement—especially for a larger customer base—as B2C marketers, than it is for their B2B counterparts to measure leads and relationships—which usually develop over longer periods of time within a smaller, more personal customer base.

If so few marketers feel their Facebook efforts are actually effective, why are so many still using it as a marketing tool? They must be gaining some benefit…

5. Show me the…benefits of social media

89% of marketers reported an increase in exposure for their business as a result of their social media marketing. This proved to be the top benefit, followed by an increase in online traffic (75%) and more marketplace insight (69%).

There is still plenty of room for marketers to maximize their social media ROI. It will be interesting to see what benefits they focus on in the future. What benefits do you plan to focus your strategy on in 2013?

6. Love lasts for social media

The majority of marketers surveyed (86%) indicated that, overall, social media is important for their business. This was a slight increase from 2012, in which 83% agreed with this statement.

So, there you have it: As these highlights from the 2013 Social Media Marketing Industry Report attest, social media continues to grow as a marketing tool in 2013.

With so many marketers taking advantage of social media to help grow their businesses, it would be a serious mistake not to follow suit. Are you using it to maximize your ROI?

[Image: Shopecia]