Social media has become a web and mobile juggernaut, attracting and engaging hundreds of millions of users to create profiles and engage in online dialogues. As a result, social media sites are now a primary platform for generating and sharing content. The scale of social media and the involvement of its users make social media a compelling platform for marketers. The Marketers Current and Future Use of Social Media study was launched to explore how marketers use social media, what motivates their usage, and their plans for future use. In addition to usage, the study focuses on how marketers measure and analyze of social media programs. Finally, we look at how marketers view 18-34 year old, “always on” consumers, many of whom are the most dedicated participants in social media.
Key Findings
The research results provide many insights into how marketers use social media to market their products. Here some of the highlights:
. 63% of marketers are already investing in social media marketing.
. Of the 37% that are not currently investing in social media marketing, 62% are planning to invest, including 46% who plan to do so within one year.
. 57% indicate that they welcome social media users involvement and participation with their brands.
. Of those who are already investing in social media marketing, 87% plan to increase their expenditures in the next 12 months, including 56% who plan significant increases in spending.
. Only 30% of marketers who conduct social media marketing have measurement and analysis strategy fully implemented. 43% of marketers who conduct social media marketing have not begun implementing any measurement or analysis programs.
. Of those who have measurement and analysis programs in place, 62% are only “somewhat satisfied” with their programs.
. Despite all of the focus and investment in social media marketing, only 30% consider their social media marketing efforts “very successful.” 59% rate their efforts as “somewhat successful.”
. 75% of marketers consider “always-on,” 18-34 year old consumers as a primary or secondary target.
. Marketers realize “always-on,” 18-34 year old consumers have unique characteristics: 70% of marketers consider them to have a shorter attention span, 67% consider them to have different motivations than previous generations, and 59% consider them to be less accepting and more questioning of marketing messages in general.
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