The Social Media survey of marketing professionals by McCann Erickson Bristol found that 86% of them thought social media is more than just a fad.
However, 65.6% of them said they did not know how to use it for the purposes of marketing.
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn remain the most popular social networking sites for marketers, with 72.8%, 42.4% and 40.2% having a presence on them respectively.
Around half of those surveyed said their IT departments blocked access to popular social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook -- effectively stopping marketers monitoring what is happening with their brands.
Just over half of UK businesses using social media used them for profile raising or PR, followed by 48% for networking and 30% for advertising.
Joanna Randall head of PR at McCann Erickson Bristol, said: "This study highlights that some of the UK's major businesses are ignoring social media channels -- but they do so at their peril.
"Word of mouth is now more powerful than ever -- opinions can be shared with a global audience at the click of a button.
"We all have the ability to influence, both positively and negatively, and therefore as marketing professionals we should be considering how best to harness the power of social media."
Comments
It's not actually such a surprising result; there's almost no consensus on what the term 'social media' actually covers, its new so there are few case studies, lots of agencies are making it seem scary, when it needn't be, and it seems unmanageable in terms of planning and measuring. For a quick \(and hopefully simple) guide on how to do this - pls check our KUDOS planning framework: http://tr.im/KUDOS
Well, a good place to start to aid understanding could be the IAB's new definitions of social media and it's measurement: http://www.iab.net/media/file/Social-Media-Metrics-Definitions-0509.pdf. Or even eModeration's recent post on ROI in social media: http://blog.emoderation.com/2009/05/roi-in-social-media-look-at-arguments.html ...
Social media is a huge opportunity for PRs, as the audience and potential of word of mouth \(mouse) online is massive. Facebook has 200 million people on it, why wouldn't marketers see this as a huge opportunity?
Also social media provides a rich source of market research, as people often Tweet and blog etc about their, very geniune, opinions about brands and services. Through social media monitoring companies can glen far more accurate information than with focus groups for example.
Matt Anderson - http://www.prbristol.co.uk
Marketers need to listen to their peers as well as agencies and suppliers in the social space. This quote from Cathryn Sleight (marketing director of Coke GB), is highly pertinent. She said: 'Four out of ten people on social networks say they are more likely to buy a product if it is recommended to them by social network sites. We expect this will grow even further. Nine million people in the UK are members of Facebook and these cyber friends influence the decisions we make just as much as the friends we have at home, at work or on the same streets.'
So 2/3 say they don't understand how social media works, that makes approximately 30% who are lying and 3.333% who DO get it.
Not surprising in the least. Many 'hard core, old school' marketing departments, still hold steadfast to their tested, tried methods which worked well in the past. Embracing social media completely is seen as somewhat risky business since many are still equating social media with the 'myspace' phenomenon of idle, chitter-chatter. Social media today, is a powerful marketing tool, without doubt but yes it will take some time and change in attitude and philosophy to be able to implement this platform seamlessly
Like anything relatively new and potentially dismissable as hype, the fact that many in the marketing field don't yet know how to make the most of the social media marketing opportunity should not really surprise anyone. There is actually a lot at stake for traditional agencies and traditional thinking here. But marketers would be wise to move fast in getting up to speed. Not only because social media is rapidly becoming THE medium pushing around their image of the brands they work for, but also because their competitors are learning how to use it and fast.
The business I lead - techlightenment.com - achieves unprecedented ROI for marketers across social media, often beating even Google search hands down, and leaving many traditional marketing routes as roadkill along the way. And the brands utilising this opportunity through us are not just the faster ones you would expect; we help brands like BT, Betfair, Channel 4, the Economist, Vodafone and even the UK government tax people \(HMRC). Some case studies are at http://www.techlightenment.com/case_studies.html
But a word of warning. It's not easy, and it's really very different to most traditional marketing techniques. It requires quite a different mindset and approach that we call 'Lots of Little', taking full advantage to target lots of different, very specific messages to lots of very small groups. Succeed and the response rates are astonishingly good. Use Social Media like mail shots or outdoor or TV and you will waste your money and generate a negative effect. Also we've found lots of relevance rather than creative or a big idea always wins. This is why it's not hard to find people who say social media marketing doesn't work...
Loving the shameless plugs guys .. but then we are marketers, who could expect anything less!
I'm not surprised by this report at all, particularly because it could be the bosses or clients that aren't 'getting it' which then means that their marketing peeps can't 'do it'. But it's up to us that are using it to change their minds and show them how beneficial SM can be. The one thing I would say is don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Traditional marketing activities are still relevant, but they become more potent when mixed with social media (in the right way of course). I've seen both big brands and SME's get great results through social media with the right strategies.
There is a massive change happening in marketing right now and SM is very much at the core of this. Those that don't add it into the mix will definitely miss out.
Click here if you'd like to visit my website to read how I get results for my clients through Social Media ... ok ok I'm kidding ...
I question whether anyone truly understands how social media "works" yet. What I'm seeing and experiencing is an uncountable number of self-proclaimed social media gurus throwing darts at a blank board at their client's' expense...while simultaneously smacktalking traditional marketing methods.
And, quite a few of the self-made success stories in social media appear to be people who threw darts and were fortunate enough to land a few. Without a thorough understanding of the elements of their success, they went on to write and sell books about it. Books that were then read by others who believe they now "get it".
Let's be clear about this. Most \(dare I say all) of the social media marketers don't fully understand yet what they're doing. As long as their clients are willing to accept the uncertainties of social media, and the financial risks and potential for rewards, it's all good.
Comments
Leo Ryan - 14/05/2009
It's not actually such a surprising result; there's almost no consensus on what the term 'social media' actually covers, its new so there are few case studies, lots of agencies are making it seem scary, when it needn't be, and it seems unmanageable in terms of planning and measuring. For a quick \(and hopefully simple) guide on how to do this - pls check our KUDOS planning framework: http://tr.im/KUDOS
Tia Fisher - 14/05/2009
Well, a good place to start to aid understanding could be the IAB's new definitions of social media and it's measurement: http://www.iab.net/media/file/Social-Media-Metrics-Definitions-0509.pdf. Or even eModeration's recent post on ROI in social media: http://blog.emoderation.com/2009/05/roi-in-social-media-look-at-arguments.html ...
Matthew Anderson - 14/05/2009
Social media is a huge opportunity for PRs, as the audience and potential of word of mouth \(mouse) online is massive. Facebook has 200 million people on it, why wouldn't marketers see this as a huge opportunity? Also social media provides a rich source of market research, as people often Tweet and blog etc about their, very geniune, opinions about brands and services. Through social media monitoring companies can glen far more accurate information than with focus groups for example. Matt Anderson - http://www.prbristol.co.uk
Beth Shirazi - 14/05/2009
no
Mark Ralphs - 15/05/2009
Marketers need to listen to their peers as well as agencies and suppliers in the social space. This quote from Cathryn Sleight (marketing director of Coke GB), is highly pertinent. She said: 'Four out of ten people on social networks say they are more likely to buy a product if it is recommended to them by social network sites. We expect this will grow even further. Nine million people in the UK are members of Facebook and these cyber friends influence the decisions we make just as much as the friends we have at home, at work or on the same streets.'
Andrew Burnett - 16/05/2009
So 2/3 say they don't understand how social media works, that makes approximately 30% who are lying and 3.333% who DO get it.
Nadira Haniff - 18/05/2009
Not surprising in the least. Many 'hard core, old school' marketing departments, still hold steadfast to their tested, tried methods which worked well in the past. Embracing social media completely is seen as somewhat risky business since many are still equating social media with the 'myspace' phenomenon of idle, chitter-chatter. Social media today, is a powerful marketing tool, without doubt but yes it will take some time and change in attitude and philosophy to be able to implement this platform seamlessly
Gi Fernando - 18/05/2009
Like anything relatively new and potentially dismissable as hype, the fact that many in the marketing field don't yet know how to make the most of the social media marketing opportunity should not really surprise anyone. There is actually a lot at stake for traditional agencies and traditional thinking here. But marketers would be wise to move fast in getting up to speed. Not only because social media is rapidly becoming THE medium pushing around their image of the brands they work for, but also because their competitors are learning how to use it and fast. The business I lead - techlightenment.com - achieves unprecedented ROI for marketers across social media, often beating even Google search hands down, and leaving many traditional marketing routes as roadkill along the way. And the brands utilising this opportunity through us are not just the faster ones you would expect; we help brands like BT, Betfair, Channel 4, the Economist, Vodafone and even the UK government tax people \(HMRC). Some case studies are at http://www.techlightenment.com/case_studies.html But a word of warning. It's not easy, and it's really very different to most traditional marketing techniques. It requires quite a different mindset and approach that we call 'Lots of Little', taking full advantage to target lots of different, very specific messages to lots of very small groups. Succeed and the response rates are astonishingly good. Use Social Media like mail shots or outdoor or TV and you will waste your money and generate a negative effect. Also we've found lots of relevance rather than creative or a big idea always wins. This is why it's not hard to find people who say social media marketing doesn't work...
Gemma Went - 19/05/2009
Loving the shameless plugs guys .. but then we are marketers, who could expect anything less! I'm not surprised by this report at all, particularly because it could be the bosses or clients that aren't 'getting it' which then means that their marketing peeps can't 'do it'. But it's up to us that are using it to change their minds and show them how beneficial SM can be. The one thing I would say is don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Traditional marketing activities are still relevant, but they become more potent when mixed with social media (in the right way of course). I've seen both big brands and SME's get great results through social media with the right strategies. There is a massive change happening in marketing right now and SM is very much at the core of this. Those that don't add it into the mix will definitely miss out. Click here if you'd like to visit my website to read how I get results for my clients through Social Media ... ok ok I'm kidding ...
joseph martins - 15/10/2009
I question whether anyone truly understands how social media "works" yet. What I'm seeing and experiencing is an uncountable number of self-proclaimed social media gurus throwing darts at a blank board at their client's' expense...while simultaneously smacktalking traditional marketing methods. And, quite a few of the self-made success stories in social media appear to be people who threw darts and were fortunate enough to land a few. Without a thorough understanding of the elements of their success, they went on to write and sell books about it. Books that were then read by others who believe they now "get it". Let's be clear about this. Most \(dare I say all) of the social media marketers don't fully understand yet what they're doing. As long as their clients are willing to accept the uncertainties of social media, and the financial risks and potential for rewards, it's all good.