2012 Marketer Resolution: Commit to Social Media
A post by Tanya Irwin in yesterday’s MediaPost shares the findings from the CMO Council’s study of Marketers investing in social media.
The study reports that while 52% of marketers believe that their brands yield benefits from their social media presence, only 17% say that social media is a fully aligned part of their marketing strategy
While their findings leave social media professionals shaking their heads, there is no surprise here. Many marketers identify the need to ‘be’ on social networks but few grasp the difference between being ‘on’ vs being ‘engaged’. Committing to social media requires far more than creating a brand page and hoping people give it a ‘like’. It is a resource to fuel brand and/or corporate efforts such as customer service, hr, new business and marketing.
Social media is a direct link to your consumer. Repeatedly companies look to interns and administrative assistants to manage these accounts. It is only when a social media blunder occurs that a brand questions the level of grooming and tactic sophistication they’ve dedicated to this very visible effort.
The article shares the following eye-opening stats:
33% of consumers say that great online customer support keeps them loyal. The top expectation that comes with a “like” is to be eligible for exclusive offers (67%)
The opportunity to interact with other customers who share a consumer’s own experiences (60%).
Games and contests are also a big draw, with 65% of people wanting to find them when making online brand connections
People say they engage with brands through channels like Facebook and other social networks largely to learn about new products (55%)
If a marketer’s 2012 initiatives include making marketing channels work harder, creating a segment advantage or increasing brand loyalty, rethinking one’s approach to social media should be the first step. Read more about the CMO Council’s findings at: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/164017/marketers-struggle-with-social-media.html?edition=41195#ixzz1gQFW4BuJ














