1、 SproutSocial 1 SproutSocial 3 05 09 13 23 39 53 61 Table of contents Introduction Key fi ndings The state of social media marketing What your audience really wants Moving toward a social-fi rst business Trends to watch Conclusion SproutSocial 5 Introduction SproutSocial 5 SproutSocial 7 Introductio

2、n There is no questioning the value of social media. Social is a venerable powerhouse, supporting nearly every marketing objective from brand awareness to advocacy over the past decade. And this value forces social teams to think more critically about their integrated marketing strategies as a whole

3、. To understand the full potential of social and how it can provide the most value to brands, we went right to the source. For this Index, we surveyed more than 1,000 social marketers about their social goals, challenges and expectations, and we cross-referenced their responses with those of more th

4、an 1,000 consumers to understand what people really want from brands on social. Seventy percent of social marketers say their biggest goal with social is to increase awareness, and more than half (59%) use social to support their sales and lead generation objectives. Other goals include increasing c

5、ommunity engagement and growing brand audiences, making social an incredibly rich marketing channel. But with such a versatile resource at their disposal, marketers can fi nd it challenging to prioritize their goals and hone their focus. Social also remains the optimal channel for marketers to achie

6、ve their lofty goals. In the last six months alone, 44% of consumers reported an increase in their personal use of social media platforms. That increased social usage bodes well for marketers seeking to drive their social audience further down the purchasing funnel: when consumers follow a brand on

7、social, 87% say they are likely to visit that brands website or app. Despite the potential of social, marketers still struggle to fully embrace its effectiveness. Forty-seven percent of marketers say developing social strategies that support overall business goals is their number one challenge. And

8、22% of marketing leaders worry their brands social strategy is ineffective. While 71% of all social marketers agree they are able to provide helpful insights to teams outside of their departments, only 12% of social teams say their primary function is to provide business insights for their entire or

9、ganization. At a time when social is more accessible than ever before, its value is still downplayed because of the historical disconnect between social and bottomline business metrics. The time is now for marketers to learn how to effectively communicate the signifi cance of social data, elevate th

10、eir strategies to serve larger business goals and secure a seat at the table for social teams. In the latest Sprout Social Index, we explore how social marketers can refi ne their goals and improve social performance by tapping into consumer insights and rising trends. Well dig into the challenges h

11、olding social teams back from reaching their fullest potential and uncover how marketers can demonstrate the value of social beyond the marketing department. Empowered with these insights, marketers can expand socials infl uence through the entire organization and even demonstrate how social data po

12、sitively infl uences business growth. SproutSocial 7 SproutSocial 9 Key fi ndings SproutSocial 9 SproutSocial 11 By aligning their social goals with those of other departments, marketers can support larger brand objectives, exceed consumers expectations and maximize the ROI of social. Marketers need

13、 to dig deeper to understand their audience. Consumers want to be engaged and entertained before they buy. Facebook continues to dominate the social landscape. Brands are only scratching the surface of what social can do. Marketers struggle to create social strategies to support overall business goa

14、ls. Forty-three percent of all social marketers say a major challenge is identifying and understanding their target audience. To address this concern, marketers turn to social data: 63% of practitioners believe social listening will become more important in the coming year. While coupons can attract

15、 consumer interest, entertaining and inspiring posts get the most engagement. And 50% of all marketers say posts that entertain are more effective than discounts and sales content in helping them reach their goals. Eighty-nine percent of marketers use Facebook for their brand marketing, and 83% of a

16、ll consumers surveyed use Facebook. Sixty-six percent of consumers say they Like or Follow a brand profi le on Facebook. The next three social platforms on which consumers follow brands are Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. Seventy-one percent of social marketers believe they can offer helpful insight

17、s from social to teams outside of the marketing department. But brands arent taking advantage of all that social has to offer, and 39% of marketers struggle to demonstrate the value of social to the rest of their organization. Nearly half (47%) of all social marketers, from interns to the C-suite, s

18、ay developing a strategy that supports their organizations goals is the number one challenge they face. 10 SproutSocial Key fi ndings SproutSocial 13 The state of social media marketing SproutSocial 13 SproutSocial 15 Today, the majority of Americans have a social profi le, and brands continue to he

19、avily invest in both organic and paid social. In 2019, social advertising spend in the U.S. is expected to reach $18.4 billion. Ninety percent of social marketers agree investing in social media has a direct impact on their business revenue. These days, 63% of social marketers say they frequently di

20、scuss social metrics or ROI with Social marketers top goals for social How marketers defi ne engagement when measuring social success their bosses, a 23% increase compared to marketers who said the same thing in our previous Index report. When it comes to setting social media goals, social marketers

21、 say brand awareness, which was their focus last year as well, is still their number one priority. Marketers goals also include driving sales and lead generation through social marketing, as well as increasing community engagement and growing their audience. With social marketers focused on increasi

22、ng awareness, its easy to assume they would prioritize reach and impressions to meet their goals. But when asked which metrics they focus on to help meet their goals, 63% of social marketers say they leverage engagement metrics. Less than half (41%) use amplifi cation and brand awareness metrics, li

23、ke reach and impressions, and 50% of social marketers focus on conversion and revenue metrics. When asked how they define engagement to measure the success of their social strategies, social marketers pointed to Likes and comments, as well as shares, retweets and interaction with consumers. Increase

24、 brand awareness Sales/lead generation Increase community engagement Grow my brands audience Increase web traffic 72%62%60% 34%32%29% Likes and/or comments Revenue attribution Shares and/or Retweets Inspiring consumers to take action Interaction with consumers Inspiring an emotional response The sta

25、te of social media marketing SproutSocial 17 Social marketers also have a good idea which social platforms to use in order to connect with their target audience. Aligned with consumer behaviors, 89% of marketers say they use Facebook as part of their brands social strategy. Social platform use: mark

26、eters vs. consumers 89% 65% 50% 49% 44% 38% 28% 28% 15% 6% 4% 66% 41% 22% 35% 13% 6% 14% 17% 3% 2% 2% 89% of marketers say they use Facebook as part of their brands social strategy. SproutSocial 17 The state of social media marketing The social platforms marketers use Where consumers follow brands o

27、n social SproutSocial 19 While Facebook reigns supreme, its worth taking a closer look at which social platforms are most popular among certain age groups. Facebook, for example, is the primary platform where members of Generation X Like or follow brands (77%), but for members of Generation Z, Insta

28、gram takes the cake (69%). In addition to age and platform preferences, social marketers weigh several other factors when deciding which social platforms to build their strategy around. While cost remains a major consideration, social marketers today are primarily interested in how many people they

29、can reach on a specifi c platform. 54% 47% 38% 37% 33% 29% 24% Despite having a clearer picture of goals and metrics, almost half (47%) of social marketers fi nd it difficult to develop social strategies that support their overall business goals. Social marketing leaders in particular agree with thi

30、s statement. Fifty-one percent of leaders say creating social strategies that fi t in their organizations business goals is a top challenge for them, compared to 44% of practitioners. Outside of developing social strategies for overall business goals, 43% of all social marketers struggle to identify

31、 and understand their target audience, while 31% fi nd it difficult to secure budget and resources for social media. 1.2.3. 4.5.6. 7.8.9. How marketers prioritize which social platforms to invest in Social marketers greatest challenges Potential for driving traffic Developing social strategies to su

32、pport business goals Aligning social strategy with other parts of the business Publishing contentMeasuring ROIMonitoring our competition Team bandwidth Identifying and understanding our target audience Demonstrating socials business impact to other departments Securing budget and resources for socia

33、l media Potential for lead generation Social algorithm updates Targeting options Demographic makeup of platform users Cost of paid ads Potential audience reach The state of social media marketing Sprout stance Looking back at marketers greatest challenges and their primary functions, its clear there

34、s a disconnect in expectations and responsibilities. When so few marketers share business insights gleaned from social with the rest of their organizations, its no wonder why so many struggle to develop social strategies that support big picture goals. Part of the problem stems from the fact that so

35、cial teams often remain siloed in marketing even though social data can provide infl uential guidance to other departments. Its up to social teams to prove it in order to open the door to relationships that will move brands forward. Take Kraft Foods, for example. Theyve used social data to shape pro

36、duct development and conduct market research. When considering their potential entry into the burger or mini-burger market, Kraft gathered insights from social. To focus their approach, Kraft dove right into customers social conversations, searching for common themes and how people in different audi

37、ence segments felt about sliders. Kraft has also used social media to poll customers about new products theyd like to see in stores. One such poll received 930,000 votes and led to the creation of Mayochup, a mayonnaise and ketchup hybrid you can actually buy today. 20 SproutSocial The state of soci

38、al media marketing SproutSocial 23 What your audience really wants SproutSocial 23 SproutSocial 25 Poor customer service Irrelevant content Too many ads from that brand Too many promotional posts They talk about politics and/or social issues They ignore posts and mentions from people They use infl u

39、encers to sell products Elevating your social strategy requires a two-pronged approach. First, social marketers must align and collaborate with the right teams to set goals that meet consumer and brand expectations. Then, marketers must use insights about consumer habits and preferences to build con

40、nections with their audience on social. 50% 48% 40% 38% 36% 36% 35% 20% 20% Understanding the why behind consumer actions If social marketers want to deepen their connections with consumers on social, it helps to know how and why people use social media in the fi rst place. Half of consumers follow

41、a brand to learn about new products and services, while 48% of consumers follow brands on social to be entertained. Why consumers follow brands on social media Why consumers unfollow brands on social media Its equally helpful to understand what brands do or say on social media that turns consumers a

42、way. Poor customer service is the number one reason why consumers will unfollow a brand on social media, followed by posting irrelevant content. To learn about new products or services To be entertained To stay up to date on company news To learn about promotions or discounts To connect with other p

43、eople who are similar to me To be inspired To be educated To connect with other people who are different from me To communicate with the brand 56% 51% 43% 35% 34% 29% 14% SproutSocial 25 What your audience really wants SproutSocial 27 Identifying which actions can trigger a Like or an unfollow is ch

44、allengingbut its a necessary move for social marketers trying to achieve their goals. In addition to knowing what encourages Likes and follows, social marketers also need to know what types of posts consumers will interact with the most. When we asked consumers what types of posts theyre most likely

45、 to leave comments on and share, entertaining posts were the number one answer across the board. This is in line with what most social marketers consider to be effective; 50% of social marketers say entertaining and inspirational posts are the most effective in helping them reach their goals. Whats

46、interesting to note is consumers shift away from discounts and sales and toward entertaining and inspirational content. In 2018, 67% of consumers said they were most likely to engage with discounts, while over half (51%) said they would share posts promoting sales. In this years Index, our fi ndings

47、 reveal the majority of consumers prefer interacting 32% with entertaining posts, and only a little more than one-third (37%) engage with discounts and sales. In another survey earlier this year, 64% of consumers said they want brands to connect with them, and with social as the premier channel for

48、connection, marketers will need to reevaluate how they encourage engagement. With a solid strategy for building awareness among consumers, the next step for social marketers is turning that awareness into genuine consideration. Social posts that encourage consumers Likes 37% of enterprise social marketers work on teams of more than 11 people. Given how theyre often juggling multiple responsibilities at once, its no wonder social marketers dont always have the time they nee