Bob Hutchins
Social media marketing is past the point of being a buzz-phrase.
It’s an industry.
But, in many ways, selling through social media isn’t taken as seriously – or viewed as critically – as other sales and marketing tactics. In fact, the disparity between the proficiency and power of a (good) social media marketing team and that team’s “rank” in a company’s marketing arsenal can be baffling at times.
On the whole, top-level leaders in a corporation still don’t “get” selling through social media, reports a new social media infographic from Outmarket. And they may very well be justified, as we’ll find out…
“What’s the ROI?” – Companies Not Connecting Social To Sales.
Shockingly, “Eighty-five percent of companies do not connect social activity to business outcomes,” reports Outmarket.
Well, I say, “shockingly.” The truth is, the majority of social sales (or so we believe) do not occur in a standard proposition/decision/purchase chain of events. An in-store coupon or email-only promo code has this kind of “trackability” built-in. But hinging a particular transaction on the fact that the buyer follows you on Twitter… well, that’s a little harder to pull off.
Currently, tracking the correlation between social media and sales is a process that’s much more open to innovation than tracking other types of sales. However, it is shocking to me that 85 percent of companies appear to be unsuccessfully creating and presenting the connection to the C-suite.
Social Media & Sales: More Pieces To The Puzzle
But Outmarket has some good news for us, too:
- More than 80 percent of consumers look at online reviews weekly before buying.
- Marketing budgets will grow in these three areas over the next 12 months:
- 71 percent – Social Advertising
- 71 percent – Online Video
- 69 percent – Social Engagement
- 71 percent – Social Advertising
- Three out of four 16-24 year olds say they cannot be parted from their mobile phones, citing a “need” to have them on their person at all times.
- Twenty-five percent of U.S. TV viewers say they’re more aware of programs because of their social media interaction.
What are social media marketers responsible for?
My question for you is: What should a social sales report look like? I’d like to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. What is the social media marketer’s duty/obligation in connecting social activity to outcomes?
Also, keep in mind that social isn’t the end-all-be-all of digital marketing! As the Outmarket infographic points out, “Email still outperforms social media in terms of conversions 40 to 1.” (…Or is that just another instance of email being easy to track and social being difficult to track?)
There’s lots of food for thought in this infographic. Let me know what’s on your mind!
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