6/1/2013
One in three marketers who spend more than $100,000 per year on social media ads are not satisfied with their efforts, according to digital marketing agency Kenshoo Social. Organic postings, which are unpaid efforts, such as branded pages and posts, are the most frequently used tactic in social media marketing. However, paid social media, such as promoted content and ads on business-focused social networks, are the most effective, say marketers.
Social media marketers primarily advertise on social networks (87%), microblogs (67%), and business-focused social networks (51%). Their primary purposes when paying to promote content on social media properties is to create awareness (5%), develop new fans (2%), drive purchases (1%), create word of mouth (1%), and increase the loyalty of existing customers (1%). Marketers do not use paid promotional content to drive traffic back to their websites or to provide customer service. Likewise, marketers do not use paid social advertising on social networks to drive traffic to their websites or to create word-of-mouth buzz.
Six in 10 marketers use ad rotation with their social media outreach, meaning they alternate between copy, images, and video; 35% target many niche audiences; 23% use automated bid management tools; and 20% use a tool to create new combinations of creative, such as pulling from image and copy libraries.
The most effective tactics to drive success with social media marketing is to start with clear marketing objectives. For brand-focused marketers whose primary goal is to drive awareness, promoted content is the easiest way to achieve successful results. For response-focused marketers who want to drive purchases, paid advertising is the most effective option.
While most marketers believe social media is free or relatively inexpensive to deliver results, companies must pay. However, one of the greatest benefits of this medium is the availability of extensive data. Marketers can set very specific targeting criteria, such as user friends, to reach their ideal consumer.
SOURCE: Kenshoo Social, Aaron Goldman, CMO, 180 N. Michigan Ave., #400, Chicago, IL 60601; 877-536-7462; aaron.goldman@kenshoo.com; www.kenshoo.com.
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