Since its 21st century arrival into mainstream business marketing strategies, one new kid on the block has continually ruffled the feathers of key players in the industry – social media. From CMO’s to CEO’s, to upcoming social influencers and the many millennial consumers being targeted – it appears everyone has an opinion. But is social media really going away?
Heated discussions and debates have taken place online and offline around the purpose, the strengths, the fad factor and the overall value of a brand, a company and even high-profiled individuals using social media for business purposes.
Yet here we are in 2017 and guess what? Social Media Channels haven’t disappeared, nor has their presence weakened or regressed. In fact, according to the 2016 Nielsen Social Media Report we have seen a continual growth in users across Australia and not only with the younger demographics – a myth many traditional industries perceive to be the truth. In fact, Generation X (ages 35-49) spends the most time on social media: almost 7 hours per week versus Millennials, who come in second, spending just over 6 hours per week.
Plus a whooping 69% of Australians are on social media with 57% of people accessing social media everyday or most days.
Meanwhile, platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have upped the ante in the variety of services, targeting options and ad formats businesses can now use as part of their marketing plans and budgets.
Gone are the days of guessing how many people visited your website, clicked to download or made a purchase. Data is at your disposal, CRM’s can be synchronized and pixels can be placed just about everywhere.
In an age where buzz terms like “transparency” and “disruption” act as a form of name-dropping in Ad Land, voila here we have a marketing tool that doesn’t hide a thing.
To further compound the relevancy of online marketing, figures published in the 2016 Sensis Report show that if you have a business, small or big, to use a well known cheesy phrase: “You gotta be in it, to win it.” 62% of local small businesses believe that social media investment will contribute to an increase in sales.
Industries who have long been bold players in the social realm are brands in the automotive, fashion, finance and FMCG sectors; however, that’s not to say there isn’t a place for other industries to stand out too.
All is fortunately not lost if you haven’t dipped your toe in the pond. The main point is to decide when to act and question if it’s an always on approach your business will benefit from or a more strategic campaign-based one or maybe a little from the two? Clearly social media is here to stay.
<<Download the full 2016 Sensis Report here >>