Social: Engaging Customers, Managing Brand Perception and Reaching New Audiences Social media continues to dominate marketing discussions as brands clamour to keep up with changing consumer behaviour. The latest data from GlobalWebIndex shows that social media accounts for one in four minutes spent online and the average person uses more than five different social networks. So while it’s clear that brands have to try and be part of the conversations on social, most are still feeling their way and struggling to get a grip on ROI. In this chapter we’ll try to throw some light on the subject by giving an overview of the latest social media data and trends that all marketers need to know.
The importance of being social Data from Econsultancy shows that marketers are still putting great emphasis on developing and improving their social media strategies. A study into digital trends in 2015 found that marketers rank social media among their top three priorities this year along with personalisation and content optimisation.
Which three digital-related areas are the top priorities for your organisation in 2015? 30% 29% 27% 22% 20% 17% 16% 15% 15% 13% 12% 9% 9% 9% 8% 7% 6% 30% 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Furthermore, Econsultancy’s Skills of the Modern Marketing Report found that social media was seen as the skill area that had grown in significance the most over the past few years.
35%