The Social Media Examiner recently released their 2016 Social Media Marketing Industry Report. Understanding its findings will help your business answer the key question: which social media platform is best for you?
Here are some key takeaways from the 2016 Social Media Marketing Industry Report
Facebook
Facebook still dominates overall. 67% of businesses will increase Facebook use in 2016. Essentially, the report says that almost everyone uses Facebook ( including an average of 92% of businesses).
But that doesn't mean everyone feels confident about Facebook, or prefers it.
Interestingly, some expressed doubt about the effectiveness of it. Here 's a quote from the report: "Many marketers are unsure about their Facebook marketing: A significant 40% of marketers don't know if Facebook traffic has declined in the last 12 months and 35% aren't sure if their Facebook marketing is effective."
Findings for business
As far as preferences go, B2C 's (business to client businesses) like using YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest.
B2B 's (business to business) prefer LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, and Slideshare.
All like using Facebook ads: [from the report] "A surprising 86% of social marketers regularly use Facebook ads, while only 18% use Twitter ads."
The rise of visual- based social media marketing
Here are some especially interesting highlights quoted directly from the report that reveal the dominance of visual marketing:
Video has become essential: A significant 60% of marketers use video in their marketing and 73% plan on increasing their use of video.
Live video is hot: A significant 50% of marketers plan on using live video services such as Facebook Live and Periscope, and 50% want to learn more about live video.
Snapchat is on a growth trajectory: Only 5% of marketers are using Snapchat, yet 16% plan on increasing their Snapchat activities and 28% of marketers want to learn more about Snapchat.
Narrowing it down for you
B2C 's - consider opening accounts on YouTube, Instagram, or Pinterest if you haven't already. The visual splendour of these formats are perfect for product presentation and fun user engagement.
B2B 's - consider dabbling in LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, and Slideshare. Because of their design, these 4 are excellent for building relationships with potential B2B clients and getting on their radar.
For all businesses - know your audience demographics
The above findings are generalities, however, and there are always exceptions. Don't be afraid to experiment.
Each channel also tends to lean toward specific demographics, which may give you an edge if you really know your audience well. For example, according to this recent May 2016 article by Social Media Today:
- Twitter is popular with college-educated people under 50
- Pinterest users are mostly women in the 18-29 age range
And according to Pew Research Center:
- 18-29 is the top demographic for Instagram. (30-49 are the next best demographic.)
- 30-49 is the top demographic for LinkedIn (with 50-64 at a close second.)
This provides an excellent example of why it is crucial to know your customers well. Once you have a clear vision of your targeted demographics, it will make it easier to decide on the social platform that's best for you .
However, if you're ever in doubt, Facebook is still a very sensible choice for 2016, simply because of its deep saturation into almost every demographic and its continued growth and innovation (and the surprising popularity of its brilliant advertising system).
Got comments or questions?
As you can see each network has different purposes and the above should help you understand how to better leverage social media for your business.
We'd love to hear how you are using Social Media, including your frustrations and all, so why not drop us a line or call us for a chat on 1300 79 55 4 1 for more helpful expertise with your Inbound Marketing.
If you have any comments or questions about this blog we would love for you to comment below and one of our inbound marketing guru’s will be sure to respond.
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