Marketers have some strong opinions and some pre-conceived ideas about Social Media, who it can reach, and what purpose it serves. Are they on target or off base? We explore the myths and truths of Social Media as it exists today.
I was reading an article titled “Facebook, MySpace aren’t making the Marketing Cut” on Media Post News. The title caught my eye because it was counter to all the other headlines I’ve read. The article said the Marketing Directors in their survey were intrigued by social media as a marketing vehicle, but were not actually using them. The survey was done in October, 2009 and showed that 55% of the 180 responding chief marketing professionals indicated low current interest in actually incorporating Facebook or MySpace into their plans. One-third said they are “not interested at all” in getting Facebook and MySpace included in their plans. One CMO sited the reason for his lack of interest was because “These networks narrowly appeal to college and high school students…and marketers don’t care about teenagers sharing photographs with one another.” I was shocked to read that a CMO actually was so ignorant about who is using social media or its varied uses. Do these marketing professionals not read all the articles published daily on Social Media touting the wonders of this platform?
Statics say that 47% of people 35-44 years old use Facebook or MySpace and 41% of people 45-54 are users. The largest age cells of users are (74%) are 18-34 year olds. However, 52% of users are college grads. Therefore, it is FICTION that Social Media is only used by High School and College students to exchange photographs.
It is my opinion that social media need not be a dominant medium for all marketers. Marketers need to analyze social media specifically for their business and determine if there are applications that work for their marketing goals and strategies There are some real benefits for certain categories, while other categories the benefits are much more limited. Some of the real benefits that social media can provide are increased Web site traffic, increased lead generation, increased sales, customer loyalty and retention, increased search engine ranking, and improved brand or product awareness.
Another study published by MediaPost in December, 2009 stated that 69% of businesses plan to increase their marketing budget for social media by 59%. I would suggest that the CMO that thought Facebook is for teens to exchange photographs not let his predetermined ideas hold him back because this social media train is out of the station and is accelerating quickly. We suggest you get your company on board and integrate Social Media as part of your overall media mix.
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