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Smart Thinking About Social Media
If you’re wondering where social media is leading online marketers in 2010, a just-released report provides some insight.
eMarketer cites data from the “2010 Social Media Marketing Benchmark Report” published on December 11 by MarketingSherpa, a research organization, that indicates online marketers go through three phases in using and evaluating social media – trial, transition, and strategic. According to the report, only about 25 percent of marketers have reached the strategic phase.
In each phase, social media marketers are setting objectives that are targeted and measured. Not surprisingly, the leading measurable objective, regardless of phase, is increasing traffic to a website. However, things get a little more interesting after that.
For online marketers in the trial phase of using social media, the second most popular objective is to improve search engine rankings. Those marketers in the transition phase said improving search engine rankings and increasing sales revenue are of equal importance.
Marketers in the strategic phase, however, see increasing lead generation as the second most important objective, followed by increasing sales revenue. Improving search engine rankings is fourth.
The differences offer a clue as to the evolution of social media. As marketers move from one phase to the next, they become more accustomed to what social media can really accomplish. Moving from the trial to transition phase, the change is subtle, but there seems to be a significant shift in perspective when going from transition to the strategic phase.
Apparently, social media marketers who have entered the strategic phase have matured enough in their thinking to recognize the importance of lead generation. Why does this matter? It makes a statement about social media’s potential business impact for those marketers who have progressed beyond trial usage.
What it says to me is that marketers who have used social media for a while have gone beyond believing social media is a quick fix. If they view generating leads as a key objective, these marketers know the responsibility falls on them, not on social media, to convert those leads into sales. This is a pragmatic view of the business value of social media rather than one based on hyperbole and conjecture.
In an era where impatience is a virtue, and when the prevailing perception is that social media is the new road to marketing success, it’s not a bad idea to stop for a minute, think about it, and get grounded in reality. Social media certainly holds much promise for online marketers. But jumping into it with unrealistic expectations or flawed objectives just sets you up for failure.
Yeah, you’re right on the target here. Most people would simply start with high, unrealistic expectations and give you right before they attain success.
That’s would be a dumb method to follow, regardless you’re into web 2.0, social media, blogging, or whatever…