It’s no longer a question of SHOULD I use social media to grow my business or to reach more people; it’s a matter of HOW to do it effectively. It’s also important to note the current social media landscape and how your business fits in.
A recent study conducted by Social Media Examiner surveyed over 4800 marketers and discovered some very interesting findings that I’ll recap here.
First, let’s answer “What can social media do for my business?”
One of the survey questions was centered around the benefits of social media. A whopping 93% of marketers indicated that their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their businesses. Increased traffic came in second with 87% reporting positive results. Other benefits listed include:
- Generated leads (74%)
- Improved sales (72%)
- Developed loyal fans (71%)
- Provided marketplace insight (58%)
- Increased thought leadership (57%)
- Grew business partnerships (56%)
These are all key benefits of using social media. It’s interesting to note that all of these benefits experienced an uptick from 2018.
According to the study people experience better sales results with more years of social media experience. In fact, more than 70% of marketers who have been using social media for more than 12 months reported that it helped them improve sales!
Second, let’s answer the question, “What platform should I be on?”
The quick answer is to know your target market and be on the platforms your target uses.
The two platforms used the most by marketers surveyed are Facebook and Instagram. Instagram is definitely on the rise as the platform saw a jump from 66% in 2018 to 73% this year.
While Facebook is still commanding the top spot, interestingly, it lost share as the most important platform for marketers, dropping from 67% in 2018 to 61% in 2019.
Also, one in ten marketers indicated they’ll be decreasing their organic marketing on Facebook. Meanwhile, a whopping 69% of marketers plan on increasing their Instagram organic activities over the next 12 months.
Clearly, Instagram is the hot platform. According to the study, when marketers were asked to identify the social media platform they want to learn more about, Instagram surpassed Facebook for the first time.
The next popular social media question is, “What about video?”
Video is booming with 85% of all internet users in the United States watching online video content monthly on any of their devices (Statista 2018).
From a marketing standpoint, when marketers were asked which platforms they used regularly for video marketing, 57% said YouTube videos and 50% said Facebook native videos.
One of the biggest surprises in the study is regarding live video. While so many experts talk about going live and how important it is to go live to market your business, 43% of the marketers surveyed said they do NOT use live video. Of those that do use live video, Facebook is the go-to platform. And a quick note about live video length, 62% of survey respondents said their live videos were less than 10 minutes.
What about the future? What are marketers planning to do? According to the survey, marketers plan on increasing their use of YouTube video (71%), Instagram video (69%), and Facebook video (68%).
Beyond video, what are your plans for marketing on social media? Share in the comments.
To check out the report in its entirety, visit socialmediaexaminer.com