According to the latest research, 65% of social marketing departments indicate needing a dedicated resource for content development. More than half of social marketers don’t even have access to all the software they need.
The fact that social marketing departments are under-resourced probably comes as no surprise to those working in social media marketing. Social marketing still has some sort of stigma to it, which makes it difficult for those who have seen it perform as a medium to attract and engage customers.
Now is not the time to steer away from dedicating resources to social marketing. Consumers have come to expect a reshaping of business to conform to the digital age.
As social has matured, three things have happened:
- Social media has become a crowded, noisy urban jungle.
- The tactics of posting content have shifted due to saturation in the platforms and updated algorithms.
- Facebook ads management requires advanced skills that many once-proficient marketers just don’t have.
What this scenario represents is a clear need to devote more resources, but only if a business wants to improve its performance and meet its goals.
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The Social Marketing Team Today
57% of the social marketers surveyed said they plan on re-allocating more budget to social media. But are they funneling the budget the right way?
It’s vital that social marketing teams focus on awareness and consideration, invest in the right tools and hire people who understand the kind of impact they’re trying to make.
Only 31% of those surveyed said they would be hiring more staff.
The budget increase will then take the form of content, such as ads and video, to help expand reach and build engagement. But will marketing departments have enough people power to manage the new goals, strategies and conversations sparked by these resources?
Social analytics is a key resource.
60% of respondents said they do not have a sufficient budget for social media software, even though they said that they couldn’t do their jobs without social media management and social analytics software.
Social analytics—tracking progress towards goal and looking deeply into the data—is a key priority.
It’s figuring out how to best leverage that social data that’s challenging for social marketers in 2018.
Difficulties in measuring social marketing success.
42% of those surveyed said they have a hard time understanding what success means across all social channels.
70% of social marketers say they know how to use social data to adjust social strategy, but only 67% actually use their social analytics solution. This tells us that the majority of social marketers think they are making all necessary strategy adjustments with social data, but still aren’t using their data to full capacity with in-depth social analytics—a huge missed opportunity.
Only 33% of social marketers have the resources they need.
With the budget increases noted above, it appears that investments in the year ahead will likely focus on improving content as opposed to managing engagement and analyzing data.
Content should always be a priority, but it’s also important to see the impact of those efforts. Having candid conversations around how and where to divvy social spend can be beneficial to ensure teams are allocating budget in a meaningful way.
What we’ve seen at Kruse Control.
I talk with many frustrated social marketers and their bosses regularly. I also speak with business leaders who are lost as to how to market their business today. This research supports the data I’ve gathered over the years and the situation seems to be either stuck or going backwards.
Businesses must be equip their marketers with the resources needed to succeed.
Social is a company-wide effort and a business must evolve, refine and perhaps restructure in order to meet the needs of their customers. Review the resources available now and consider adding a dedicated resource for content development, social analytics and social media management software, and the necessary amount of skilled staff.
Get my latest business tips, exclusive content, and a bit of fun straight to your inbox with the Kruse Control Newsletter. Boost your profits with our proven advice. Sign up now – it’s free!