Being a member of the Social Media Marketing Community I am constantly checking my various Social channels for any new or insightful input into our world. In my digital comings and goings the other day I came across a blog post of a highly respected and well-known member of our community, Brian Solis. The article itself was essentially a breakdown of the effectiveness of various social groups on the web. The numbers that I saw really got me thinking about Social Media Marketing, where it is, and where it's headed. Before I share what I found with you however let's go over some of the basic numbers of Social Media and it's usage. Here is Social Media at a glance
- U.S. internet users spend a quarter of their time on the internet on Social Media sites
- 4 of 5 users visit Social Sites at least once a month
- More than half of the world population goes on Facebook (54%)
- Twitter is now up to 190 million users who put out 65 million tweets daily
These numbers look great but what does that really mean for Marketers on Social Media? Well here are the numbers I saw on Mr. Solis's blog, these are based on a report done byExactTarget.
- A mere 37% of twitter users said they were more likely to buy from a brand after becoming a follower
- Even worse only 17% of Facebook users said the same, while a staggering 49% said they were not more likely to do so
- Also asking if followers/fans would be more likely to recommend a company to someone 33% of twitter users said yes and 21% of Facebook users.
There was also a report I found on prnewswire.com that was run by Neurofocus. What they did was use their new and innovative full brain measurements technology. They did this on Facebook, various websites, and TV ads for Visa's "Trip For Life" campaign during the 2010 winter olympics these were the major findings.
- Highest overall effectiveness of the campaign was on Facebook
- Highest amount of purchase intent was generated through both Facebook and TV
- Messaging carried by the ad was strongest on the internet especially Facebook
- Highest attention getter was the internet
- However Visa brand perception was lifted most by TV
So what is it all these numbers mean for Social Media Marketing. Is it telling us that there is no real value and it all just hype? NO, absolutely not, what this tells me is that even though the shift to Social Consumerism is not anywhere near completed --- it is beginning. If you take into account that both Facebook and Twitter did not exist 7 years ago, we are already seeing proof people are influenced through those channels. In just a few short years lets us see where things are headed. Remember the Roman Empire was not built in a day, but it spread across three continents and was the center of the world at that time. I'm not asking you to believe me look at Mercedes-Benz for example, who believe in Social Media so much that in conjunction with its TV ad for this years Super Bowl is running a Social Media campaign where it will give away brand new cars to the winners of the contest.
The numbers are definitely there as far as why Social Media Marketing makes sense. The numbers on how much it is working haven't quite reached that same level yet but they are on their way, and you had better believe as the millennial generation becoming the primary consumer base the shift will continue to move from traditional to Social Marketing.
So while it isn't time to completely drop your traditional means of marketing it is time to start shifting some of the budget towards Social Media. Get on the boat just don't sell the car quite yet.