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The State of Social
Report 2011

In partnership with LBi and


bigmouthmedia
The State of
Social Report
2011
In partnership with:

November 2011 Econsultancy London Econsultancy New York


4th Floor, The Corner 41 East 11th St., 11th Floor
91-93 Farringdon Road New York, NY 10003
London United States
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Contents

1. Executive Summary and Highlights ................................ 1


2. Introduction by LBi and bigmouthmedia ....................... 5
3. About Econsultancy ......................................................... 6
4. About LBi and bigmouthmedia ....................................... 7
5. Methodology and Sample ................................................ 8
6. Findings ........................................................................... 9
6.1. Social media activity .................................................................... 9
6.1.1. Extent of social media activity ................................................. 9
6.1.2. Senior management interest in social media ......................... 11
6.1.3. Types of content created ........................................................ 14
6.1.4. How well different areas of social media are covered ........... 16
6.1.5. Change in social media focus .................................................20
6.2. Platforms and networks ............................................................. 21
6.2.1. Websites and platforms used................................................. 21
6.2.2. Use of Facebook ..................................................................... 24
6.2.3. Change in the use of Facebook .............................................. 26
6.2.4. Use of Twitter ......................................................................... 27
6.2.5. Managing brand presence on Google+ .................................. 29
6.2.6. Have you moved quickly enough on Google+? .....................30
6.3. Resourcing, agencies and technology ........................................ 31
6.3.1. Number of people dedicated to social media activity ........... 31
6.3.2. Social media ownership ......................................................... 32
6.3.3. Implementation of training and governance models ............ 34
6.3.4. Effect of social media on SEO ................................................ 36
6.3.5. Managing out-of-hours social media..................................... 37
6.3.6. Agencies involved in social media and online PR activity .... 38
6.3.7. Use of online reputation and buzz monitoring
technologies ........................................................................... 39
6.4. Budgets, effectiveness and measurement ..................................41
6.4.1. Level of spending on social media marketing ....................... 41
6.4.2. Understanding of social media ROI ...................................... 43
6.4.3. Expected change in social media spending over next year ... 44
6.4.4. Value gained from social media investment ......................... 46
6.4.5. Metrics for assessing social media success............................48

The State of Social Report 2011

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6.4.6. Justifying social media spend ................................................ 51
6.5. Integration, barriers and trends ............................................... 53
6.5.1. Integrating social media with different marketing
channels ................................................................................. 53
6.5.2. Barriers to effective social media engagement ...................... 55
6.5.3. Impact of different trends ...................................................... 57
6.5.4. Most important trend affecting social media ........................ 59
6.5.5. Most persuasive device for social media ...............................60
6.5.6. Replacing traditional marketing with social media .............. 62
6.6. International campaigns ........................................................... 63
6.6.1. Running social media campaigns in multiple countries ....... 63
6.6.2. Platforms and processes to manage international social
media ...................................................................................... 65

7. Appendix: respondent profiles ...................................... 66


7.1. Geography.................................................................................. 66
7.2. Annual company turnover ........................................................ 67
7.3. Business sector .......................................................................... 68
7.4. Business focus (B2B or B2C) .................................................... 69
7.5. Type of agency ........................................................................... 70

The State of Social Report 2011

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1. Executive Summary and Highlights
The State of Social Report 2011, in partnership with LBi and bigmouthmedia, is based on
an online survey of more than 1,000 respondents, carried out in September and October 2011.

Respondents included client-side marketers (or PR and online communications specialists) and
supply-side respondents working either independently or for a range of different types of agency
or technology vendor.

The report supersedes the Econsultancy / bigmouthmedia Social Media and Online PR Report,
published in 2010 and 2009.

Key findings

The research findings reflect an established industry that is rapidly maturing, as companies move
from experimentation to more well-developed activity which is integrated with other marketing
channels and within different business functions.

 Almost two thirds (64%) of companies say they are now beyond the experimental phase
compared to 54% a year ago.
Since last year, companies surveyed are much more likely to be using the main social networks for
a range of different purposes, including for marketing and publishing new content but
increasingly for customer service and getting customer feedback and market intelligence.

 More than half of company respondents (52%) say their organisations use Facebook for
reacting to customer issues and inquiries compared to only 29% last year. Similarly, 50% of
companies now use Twitter for customer service, compared to only 35% in 2010.
 Half of organisations (51%) are using Facebook for gathering customer feedback, compared
to 37% last year.
Where previously the focus for companies was on getting started with social media, more
marketers are now focused on optimising their social media strategies by heightening engagement
and listening and responding more effectively on social media channels.

 The trend expected to have the biggest impact over the next year is the increased use of
mobile and smart devices, deemed to be ‗highly significant‘ by more than half of respondents
(54%).
 The smartphone is overwhelmingly deemed to be the most persuasive device for social
media, according to 73% of company respondents. Significantly fewer respondents cite other
devices, such as the laptop, tablet and desktop computer.
When the social media industry was in its relative infancy, there was much talk about the wide
range of social channels available, including smaller platforms and the rise of niche social
networks. In 2011, the social media landscape is dominated by the established ‗Big Four‘ social
networks, with the majority of companies using Facebook and Twitter for their social media
activity. The next most popular social media sites are YouTube and LinkedIn.

There has been much hype about newer social media sites, including Quora, Foursquare and
Google+, but the signs are that few marketers are using these sites as part of their social media
strategy. Currently, only 14% of companies are using Google+ for social media, but we will know
in the next few months whether this has become another success story, given that Google has only
recently launched brand pages. Only 3% of marketers use Quora while 15% use Foursquare as
part of their social activity.

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Lack of structure and formal social media processes

Despite social media heading towards maturity, 60% of organisations have not yet implemented
internal social media training and governance models. Although social media is becoming an
important part of the organisation‘s marketing toolkit, there is an on-going need for more formal
social media processes and policies.

Training models will help to reduce risk and will empower staff to deal appropriately with
potential crises.

 It is clear that many companies still have a lot to learn. Apart from use of Twitter, less than a
third of companies say they are doing ‗well‘ at a range of social media-related activities,
including listening and monitoring, engaging customers in dialogue, having a content
strategy and working with bloggers and influencers.
Companies continue to struggle with measurement

Another recurring trend is the difficulty with measurement, but it is encouraging that significantly
fewer marketers now say they are unable to measure.

 When asked to describe the value they get from social media, some 37% of companies report
they are unable to measure (and ‗the jury is still out‟), compared to 47% in 2010.
Companies continue to grapple with the ROI question and there is still a long way to go to
accurately measure value. It is worrying that 41% of respondents said they do not have an ROI
figure for any of the money they spend on social media. Only 8% of businesses report they can
attribute ROI for all of the money they invest in social media.

The lack of tools may be preventing some companies from accurately measuring social media.

 Some 39% of companies do not use any kind of buzz monitoring tool, including free tools.
Despite this, 30% of company respondents say they listen and monitor well, up from 26% in
2010.
 Although the proportion of companies not using buzz monitoring technology has fallen since
2010 (down from 46%), companies could be doing more to make the most of the wealth of
free tools and resources that are available to them.
Barriers holding back social media investment

Another sign of social media maturity is that fewer companies cite the lack of knowledge or
understanding about social media as a barrier to social media engagement. Only 24% report this
to be one of the three biggest challenges, compared to 35% in last year‘s report. It is clear that
more companies are engaging with these channels and becoming familiar with best practice.

Furthermore, fewer companies this year cite company culture as an obstacle to social media
engagement, signifying that social media is becoming more ingrained in the ethos of the
organisation. More companies are using social tools and tactics to move towards a social business
model.

The main barrier holding back investment is the lack of resources, but this may be partly down to
lack of budget, which is the second most significant obstacle. Over half of companies (52%) cite
the lack of resources as an issue, while 30% mention the lack of budget.

Other key findings:

 Organisations are using a wide range of different types of content in their social media
marketing. Over half of organisations (57%) have a company blog as part of their social media
activity, while 55% have used video.

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 2

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 While there is much room for improvement, more companies are reporting they do social
media well, an indication that businesses are becoming more confident about best practice
and increasingly familiar with how to optimise social media activity.
– Over a third of companies (37%) now report they use Twitter well, compared to 27% last
year. Over a quarter (27%) report they are using Facebook well.
 The main use of Facebook is as a marketing channel. Two-thirds of respondents (67%) cited
this last year, compared to three-quarters (75%) in 2011. Over three-quarters of respondents
(77%) now use Twitter as a marketing channel.
 Over half of companies (56%) feel that their organisation has not moved quickly enough on
Google+, while 16% say their organisation has moved quickly enough.
 A third of respondents (33%) employ one member of staff dedicated to social media, while the
number of organisations without any dedicated social media personnel in place has dropped
from 29% in 2010 to 25% in 2011.
 Social media is owned by the marketing department, according to 70% of organisations. Just
under a quarter of respondents (23%) report that a mixture of departments own social media.
 Almost three-quarters of respondents (73%) say their organisation considers the effect of
social media on SEO.
 The vast majority of respondents (80%) report they integrate social media activity with email
marketing, indicating that there is clear synergy between social and email. Out of a range of
marketing channels, the biggest increase in the level of integration is for print media, with
32% of companies now integrating with this channel compared to 21% last year.

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 3

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Other related Econsultancy reports and content

Reports

Twitter for Business Best Practice Guide


http://econsultancy.com/reports/twitter-for-business

How to Create Amazing Facebook Pages


http://econsultancy.com/reports/how-to-create-amazing-facebook-pages

Social Media Management Systems Buyer‘s Guide


http://econsultancy.com/reports/social-media-management-systems-buyers-guide

Social Media Statistics


http://econsultancy.com/reports/social-media-statistics

Social Media and Online PR- Digital Marketing Template Files


http://econsultancy.com/reports/social-media-and-online-pr-digital-marketing-template-files

Online Reputation and Buzz Monitoring Buyer‘s Guide


http://econsultancy.com/reports/online-reputation-and-buzz-monitoring-buyer-s-guide

Presentations

Using social media for marketing and monetisation – A Twitter case study on Econsultancy.com
http://econsultancy.com/reports/using-social-media-for-marketing-and-monetisation-a-twitter-case-study-on-
econsultancycom

What‘s the value of ―social media‖ for retailers online?


http://econsultancy.com/reports/whats-the-value-of-social-media-for-retailers-online

Social Media Marketing and Monetisation


http://econsultancy.com/reports/social-media-marketing-and-monetisation

What‘s the value of email in the age of social media?


http://econsultancy.com/reports/cheetahmail-retail-forum-2009-ashley-friedlein

Training

Online PR and Social Media Training


http://econsultancy.com/training/courses/online-pr

Online Reputation Management Training


http://econsultancy.com/training/courses/online-reputation-management

Social Media – Advanced training


http://econsultancy.com/training/courses/advanced-social-web-training

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 4

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2. Introduction by LBi and bigmouthmedia
What’s Next … in Social Media

Over the last twelve months we‘ve witnessed more major UK brands than ever before embrace
social media as a central part of their marketing mix.

New tools from Facebook and the unstoppable rise of Twitter - coupled with the growing cultural
importance of blogging and other forms of digital content creation - mean that marketers have
never had more ways to connect with their consumers online.

Of course the most successful brands are those that focus on putting content at the heart of the
social equation. They are the ones harnessing the power of storytelling to link bought, owned and
earned media to create new forms of social currency that consumers can share amongst their peer
groups.

It is against this backdrop of rapid and relentless evolution that LBi and bigmouthmedia are
proud to bring you our third annual social media survey in partnership with Econsultancy.

Once again the UK‘s digital industry has generously contributed valuable insights to help produce
a report that is packed with essential trends and statistics that give the clearest picture yet of how
this industry is shaping up.

When we last published this report back in 2010 social media was still a fledgling discipline, with
brands of all shapes and sizes clamouring to stake their claim on the sector. This land-grab has
settled down during 2011, leaving in its wake a maturing social media industry that has naturally
aligned itself with other areas of digital marketing such as search, branded content and CRM. To
illustrate this, Econsultancy‘s research shows, for example, that over half of UK organisations
(57%) count a company blog as part of their social media strategy, while a similar proportion
(55%) have used video to power customer journeys.

Similarly, where brands may previously have only dabbled with social media they are now truly
waking up to its potential. It‘s encouraging to see that there has been a hike in brands investing in
an ‗average‘ amount of social media marketing (43%), while those that claim to be ‗heavily‘
involved in the discipline has also risen (21%).

This may be a subtle step-change but it‘s safe to say that marketers are now elevating social media
to form a central component in their digital strategies, particularly where the goal is to develop
meaningful relationships with customers.

Furthermore, with social and search becoming natural bedfellows ‗earned media‘ now has the
power to fundamentally impact a brand‘s online business performance. With customer
acquisition, conversion and retention increasingly linked by social threads, effective measurement
has never been more critical. As we move into 2012 putting the right metrics in place to effectively
gauge the impact of social media looks set to remain a significant challenge for brands. Those that
succeed will be those that embed social media deep within their organisations and adapt quickly
to a real-time, always-on way of working.

At LBi and bigmouthmedia we‘ve been striving to help our clients overcome these challenges so
that they may thrive in the social ecosystem.

Lyndsay Menzies, Chief Executive Officer at bigmouthmedia and Chief Media


Officer at LBi International N.V.

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 5

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3. About Econsultancy
Econsultancy is a global independent community-based publisher, focused on best practice digital
marketing and e-commerce, and used by over 240,000 internet professionals every month.

Our hub has 105,000+ members worldwide from clients, agencies and suppliers alike with over
90% member retention rate. We help our members build their internal capabilities via a
combination of research reports and how-to guides, training and development, consultancy, face-
to-face conferences, forums and professional networking.

For the last ten years, our resources have helped members learn, make better decisions, build
business cases, find the best suppliers, accelerate their careers and lead the way in best practice
and innovation.

Econsultancy has offices in London, New York and Dubai and we are a leading provider of digital
marketing training and consultancy. We are providing consultancy and custom training in the
Middle East, and extensively across Europe and Asia. We trained over 3,000 marketers and ran
over 200 public training courses in 2010.

Join Econsultancy today to learn what‘s happening in digital marketing – and what works.

Call us to find out more on +44 (0)20 7269 1450 (London) or +1 212 699 3626 (New York). You
can also contact us online.

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4. About LBi and bigmouthmedia
LBi is a global marketing and technology agency blending strategic, creative, media and technical
expertise to build business value. We help companies of all shapes and sizes decide what‘s next for
their businesses... and then we take them there.

We‘re experts at linking bought, owned and earned media to power customer journeys in a way
that no other agency can. We can do this because of our recent merger with bigmouthmedia. This
saw us take the best of LBi – the ability to create brand experiences that engage consumers and
keep them engaged – and combine it with the best of bigmouthmedia – the ability to develop
holistic search strategies, integrate media planning and harness social channels – to create an
agency that does things differently.

As a result we now specialise in defining and executing transformational digital strategies for our
clients around the world. Across our 24 offices in 16 countries, there are more than 2,000 digital
specialists collaborating with brands to enrich people‘s lives.

There are many things that make us unique but if we had to choose one it would be our ability to
bring together diverse teams of experts to suit any brief. We call this blending, and it‘s the reason
why all types of organisations – from famous global business to disruptive start-ups – choose LBi
and bigmouthmedia to help make their brands desirable wherever, whenever and however people
choose to engage with them.

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 7

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5. Methodology and Sample
The State of Social 2011 Report, published by Econsultancy in partnership with LBi and
bigmouthmedia, is based on an online survey1of more than 1,000 respondents in September
and October 2011.
Respondents included:
 Client-side (in-house or company) marketers and PR / communications professionals
 Agencies and consultants (including digital agencies, PR agencies and specialist online PR or
social media professionals). Supply-side respondents also include social technology vendors.
The findings are shown for client-side (i.e. ‗company respondents‘) and supply-side (‗agency
respondents‘) separately.
Information about the survey, including the link, was emailed to Econsultancy‘s user base and
promoted online via Twitter and other channels. The incentive for taking part was access to a
complimentary copy of this report just before its publication on the Econsultancy website.
If you have any questions about the research, please email Econsultancy‘s Research Manager,
Aliya Zaidi (aliya.zaidi@econsultancy.com).
The chart below shows that over half of all respondents (54%) are classified as supply-side
(agencies and consultants), and 46% are company marketers or in-house PR or communications
professionals.

Figure 1: Which of the following most accurately describes your job role?

Respondents: 1104

1Econsultancy uses Clicktools for its online surveys

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6. Findings
6.1. Social media activity
6.1.1. Extent of social media activity
The results below show that the proportion of respondents doing an average amount of social
media has increased to 43%, up from 36% in 2010. Slightly more respondents (21%) say they are
heavily involved in social media compared to last year (18%).

The proportion of respondents reporting that they have experimented with social media has
fallen to 31%, down from 40% in 2010. This indicates that social media as a channel is becoming
increasingly mature and more marketers are moving beyond merely experimenting with social
media.

Company results
Figure 2: How would you describe the extent of your organisation's social media
activity?

2011 respondents: 438


2010 respondents: 382

Voice of the expert


―The shift from companies just experimenting to actually doing an average amount of social media is promising.
This shows that social isn't just a fad or something for certain types of businesses, but it's actually becoming a
mainstream part with a role to play in any type of organisation.

―However, we are still seeing that companies are still wary of fully committing to using social media, which can
often be as simple as not fully understanding the tools and capabilities.‖

Darcie Tanner, Social Media Account Director, bigmouthmedia

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The agency results below indicate that fewer agencies than last year say their clients are only
experimenting with social media. Only 46% of agencies now report their clients have
experimented with social media, compared to 56% last year.

Some 39% of supply-side respondents report their clients do an average amount, slightly higher
than in 2010 when 34% reported an average amount of social media activity.

The proportion of agencies reporting their clients are heavily involved in social media has
significantly increased to 13%, up from 8% in 2010.

Agency results
Figure 3: How would you describe the extent of your clients‘ social media
activity?

2011 respondents: 438


2010 respondents:392

Voice of the expert


―This year's social media survey shows that the industry has become established. More brands and agencies are
happier with their social media capabilities and both are being realistic with their budget expectations.‖

Andrew Girdwood, Media Innovations Director, bigmouthmedia

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6.1.2. Senior management interest in social media
The results below indicate that 45% of marketers report that senior management interest in social
media is about the same as other marketing issues, while 14% say they are more interested in
social than in other marketing disciplines.
Just under a quarter of respondents (23%) say their senior management is very interested and
actively participating in social media. At the other end of the scale, some 17% report there is very
little interest.

Company results – 2011


Figure 4: How interested in social media is your organisation's most senior
management (c-level executives)?

2011 respondents: 438

Voice of the expert


―This valuable insight proves that social media is still a huge opportunity for businesses cutting their teeth in the
online space. Let‘s hope though, that they see it for what it is: word of mouth that has been around for millions of
years, enhanced and enabled by the internet to reach an intended audience and engage with them quicker and
more efficiently than ever before. The mistake is to think it‘s all about Twitter and Facebook, and not consider
social media marketing as a discipline that should be integrated with all other channels to give messages more
exposure, impact and the ability to be fed back on.‖

Mel Carson, Digital Marketing Evangelist – Microsoft Advertising

―We're seeing that there is a lot more buy-in from senior management, which is encouraging, and will help
organisations to get the resource they need to move forward with projects relating to the social media space.‖

Darcie Tanner, bigmouthmedia

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Company results – 2010
Figure 5: How interested in social media is your organisation's most senior
management (c-level executives)?

2010 respondents: 382

Methodology note: The wording of options this year was not exactly the same as 2010, which is why 2010
data is not shown in the same chart as 2011

Voice of the expert


―One of the most interesting findings from the research is how interested client-side C-level executives are in
social media. 45% respondents state it‘s ‗about the same as other marketing issues‘ compared to 37% last year.
This hopefully indicates a level of maturity for social media. In 2011, this disruptive digital discipline, with all its
complexities, has finally become part of the organizational fabric.‖

Michelle Goodall, Independent Online Communications and Social Media Consultant

Some 43% of agencies [Figure 6] report that senior management interest in social media is at the
same level as for other marketing issues.

Over a third (34%) of supply-side respondents report the level of interest in social media among
their clients‘ senior managers is higher than in other areas of marketing. This compares to only
14% of companies who report that the level of interest in social media is higher than other areas of
marketing.

Just 8% of agencies report their clients are very interested and actively participating in social
media. In this respect, the agencies appear to be far more conservative than company
respondents about the level of interest in social media at the top of client organisations, as this
compares to 23% of client-side respondents who report this level of interest among their senior
management.

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Agency results - 2011
Figure 6: Typically, how interested in social media are your clients' most senior
managers (c-level executives)?

Respondents: 495
Agency results - 2010
Figure 7: Typically, how interested in social media are your clients' most senior
managers (c-level executives)?

2011 respondents: 331


2010 respondents: 331

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6.1.3. Types of content created
The chart below indicates that organisations are using a wide range of different types of content in
their social media marketing. Over half of organisations (57%) have a company blog as part of
their social media activity, while a similar proportion (55%) have used video.

Just under half of companies (48%) use competitions in their marketing and 45% facilitate user-
generated content.

Over a third of companies (38%) use creative content such as infographics, while at the other end
of the scale, only 14% are utilising games.

Companies
Figure 8: Does your organisation create or facilitate any of the following types of
content as part of its social media marketing activity?

Respondents: 383

The agency results below [Figure 9] indicate that the company blog (69%) is the most popular
social media-related type of content created by clients. Slightly more agencies (54%) than
companies (48%) report their clients are utilising competitions as part of their social media
marketing.

While just under a third of companies (31%) use mobile applications, slightly more agencies
(40%) say their clients are using this approach as part of their social media marketing.

Similarly, a fifth of agencies (20%) report their clients are using games compared to 14% of
companies surveyed.

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Agencies
Figure 9: Do your clients create or facilitate any of the following types of content
as part of their social media marketing activity?

Respondents: 481

Voice of the expert


―Despite the buzz around other types of social media, the company blog is the most frequently used type of
content. Perhaps this is because it is the most in-depth and can be used as a hub, facilitator and accelerator for
other social media content.‖

Stuart Bruce, Digital Corporate Communications Consultant

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6.1.4. How well different areas of social media are covered
The results below show how well respondents rate the ability of their own organisations across
different areas of social media, within the context of their over-riding strategy for social media.
Over a third of companies (37%) now report they use Twitter well compared to 27% last year. This
is encouraging and indicates that companies are becoming more confident in how they use
Twitter as their experience with the channel grows.

Apart from use of Twitter, less than a third of companies are doing ‗well‘ at any of the listed
activities, with respondents typically saying they need to improve or aren‘t doing them at all.

The proportion of people who say they listen and monitor well has slightly increased t0 30% from
26% last year.

Content strategy is an area that has shown improvement in the past year. In 2010, 15% of
respondents reported they did this well, and this has increased to 22% in 2011. A fifth of
respondents (20%) report they do not have a content strategy for social media at all, though this
is an improvement since last year when a quarter (25%) did not have a content strategy in place.

Some 17% of respondents this year report they work (well) with bloggers and influencers, while
11% last year reported they identified and engaged influencers well.

Over a third of respondents (35%) report they are using location-based-services, though this
includes 30% who say their organisations need to improve in this area.

Google+ was also in the early stages of adoption at the time of this survey; only 24% of
respondents report their organisations are using Google+, including just 3% who report they do
this well. This may very well increase over the next year as businesses start to use Google+
branded pages.

Companies
Figure 10: As part of your over-riding strategy for social media, how well does
your organisation cover the following areas?

Respondents: 436

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 16

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2010 results
Figure 11: How well does your organisation cover the following areas of social
media and online PR?

Respondents: 359

Methodology note: The options this year were not the same as for 2010, which is why data is not shown in
the same chart as 2011

Voice of the expert


―If social media is now part of the organisational fabric and has an equal footing with other marketing
disciplines, this means that it is subject to the same scrutiny as other elements of the mix. Figures 9-12 rather
surprisingly indicate that the vast majority of respondents don‘t believe that they are ‗doing‘ social media well.
This position has hardly moved from 2010. Clearly, execution is not matching expectations or perhaps
expectations are still firmly set beyond what is actually achievable and measurable.‖

Michelle Goodall, Independent Online Communications and Social Media Consultant

―The majority of organisations feel that they could do things better or don't do things at all. I think this shows
where training for organisations is useful. It's difficult to keep up with all the new platforms, changes to current
platforms and best practice. It's better to focus on key platforms/tactics that are best for your agency/brand, and
do them well, rather than trying to do them all.‖
Darcie Tanner, bigmouthmedia
―The fact that agencies are more pessimistic about how well social media is used is perhaps a reflection of their
frustration at clients investing in social, but not as much as the agencies want them to!‖

Stuart Bruce, Digital Corporate Communications Consultant

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The agency results below show a far more pessimistic view of how well social media is used. A
quarter of agencies (25%) report their clients are using Twitter well, compared to 37% of
companies.

Only 19% of agencies report their clients are using listening and monitoring tools, compared to
30% of companies.

Some 15% of agencies say their clients are good at working with bloggers and influencers, a
significant increase since 2010, when only 8% of supply-side respondents reported their clients do
this well.

Agencies
Figure 12: As part of your over-riding strategy for social media, how well does
your organisation cover the following areas

Respondents: 496

Voice of the expert


―I am still surprised that there are less respondents listening than participating on a number channels. It implies
that a small but significant number of companies are operating ‗blind‘ in social media, probably because of a lack
of strategic direction. There will be blood.‖

Ged Carroll, Director of Digital Strategies, Ruder Finn

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 18

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Agencies - 2010 results
Figure 13: How well do your clients cover the following areas of social media and
online PR?

Respondents: 303

Methodology note: The options this year were not the same as for 2010, which is why data is not shown in
the same chart as 2011

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 19

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6.1.5. Change in social media focus
In a free-form question, respondents were asked how their social media focus had changed over
the last 12 months. Most respondents reported a substantial increase in focus on social media. In
some cases, companies have moved from having no strategy at all to having a complete social
media plan in place. Some companies mention that they have set up profiles for Facebook and
Twitter since 2010.

How, if at all, has your social media focus changed over the last 12 months?
―We are planning a proper strategy whereas before, this was an ‗if we have time‘.‖

―Went from no focus at all on social media to launching into Facebook and Twitter mid-2011.‖

―Definitely grown in importance - as has the ability to have two-way communications and monitor/ respond to
social media activity effectively.‖

―Social media focus has changed a lot over the last 12 months. You can't just dabble any more as the channel
matures and your social media strategy and guidelines need to be in place to make the most of the channel.‖

―Focus has shifted to being more engaged and working on strategies to heighten engagement. Use of peer-to-peer
marketing is becoming of more significant importance to campaigns.‖

―We've gone from having no focus to building a small social presence and setting up a listening station.‖

While companies are generally upbeat about their social media strategy, the agencies are slightly
more cynical. While many agencies say that their clients are interested in social media or have
started to experiment, they also cite a clear lack of strategy. Some agencies also say that while
clients are interested, the main deterrent is a lack of time or resources.
However, some agencies are also very positive about how their clients are using social media,
indicating that there is a greater focus on the channels for engagement.

How, if at all, has your clients’ social media focus changed over the last 12
months?
―They all know they should be doing something but cite lack of time and resources as the deterrent.‖

―They've become aware of it and know they need to do 'something'.‖

―There is much more interest in social media and what it can deliver, but many clients are still lacking a strategy,
resource (often this is given to a junior staff member) and an overarching understanding.‖

―Beginning of realisation that it is not a magic bullet but needs to be used in conjunction with other marketing,
e.g. PR.‖

―It has become more of a priority - but not with everybody, so more traditional ways of
marketing/advertising/PR still take precedence.‖

―Some [clients] are slowly starting to see the benefits, but there's still a long way to go. And some feel it just isn't
relevant because of their target audiences.‖

―More aware of benefits it offers, but still reticent as they feel it will pull staff away from their day jobs.‖

―[Companies] are desperate to use social media without any thought about how or why.‖

―They all realise the potential but it's still not a priority.‖

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 20

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6.2. Platforms and networks
6.2.1. Websites and platforms used
Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn are the four giants of the social media space, with
significantly fewer companies using other social media sites.

Some 87% of companies now employ Twitter as part of their social media marketing or online PR
activity, while 82% use Facebook.

YouTube is the third most widely used web property, with over two-thirds (69%) of companies
using the site as part of their social media activity. More than half of client-side respondents
(57%) report they use LinkedIn for marketing. Almost a fifth of respondents (19%) use Wikipedia,
while 15% use Foursquare.

It is interesting to note that 14% of companies are utilising Google+ in their social media strategy,
even though when this survey was conducted, Google had not officially launched a version for
businesses. However, some companies may include a +1 button on their site, to allow their
readers and users to recommend and share content. Companies may also be encouraging their
staff to use Google+ for business.

Companies
Figure 14: Which websites or platforms does your organisation use as part of its
social media marketing or online PR activity?

Respondents: 420

Voice of the expert


―It‘s slightly concerning that 19% of respondents claim to ‗use‘ Wikipedia for marketing as it‘s hard to imagine
how this could be done ethically within the rules and spirit of Wikipedia.‖

Stuart Bruce, Digital Corporate Communications Consultant

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The results from 2010 are shown below, indicating that the proportion of responding companies
using the full range of social networks has increased since last year. The proportion of
respondents using the location-based social network, Foursquare, has almost doubled, with 15%
using the social platform this year, compared to just 8% in 2010.

Companies - 2010 results


Figure 15: Which websites does your organisation use as part of its social media
marketing activity?

Respondents: 382
Some 92% of agencies report their clients are using Facebook, as Figure 16 shows. This is closely
followed by Twitter, which 88% of agencies say their clients use.
A slightly higher proportion of agencies than companies report their clients are using YouTube as
part of their social media marketing. Around three-quarters (76%) of agencies report their clients
are using the leading video-sharing platform, compared to 69% of companies.
Two thirds (65%) of supply-side respondents report their clients are using LinkedIn, compared to
just over half of companies (57%) who are using this platform as part of their social media
marketing activity.

Voice of the expert


―Social media in 2011 is still about the ‗Big Four‘. There is significant clear water between Twitter, Facebook,
YouTube and LinkedIn and the secondary social channels.

―Foursquare has shown growth but not as rapidly as expected. With Facebook shutting down Places and
focusing on other features, it will be interesting to see whether Foursquare‘s new UK presence, interesting
partnerships and publicity helps them to become a bigger player in the UK and Europe. The importance of
smartphone growth highlighted later in the report [Figures 47-49] could not really be more indicative of the
huge potential of location based social media.

―"I‗m surprised at the significant showing of Google+ in these results given that the service was beta launched
in July 2011 and Google+ brand profiles were launched on 7th November 2011, well after this survey was
conducted. The responses must be based on personal use and experimentation. If this is an indication of intent
then we should expect Google+ to figure highly this time next year. I‗m dismayed that Slideshare doesn‗t figure
in the results given that it is terrific content marketing tool for B2B organisations.‖

Michelle Goodall, Independent Online Communications and Social Media Consultant

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 22

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Agencies
Figure 16: Which websites or platforms do your clients use as part of their social
media marketing or online PR activity?

Respondents: 479

The agency results from 2010 are shown below. A higher proportion of agencies report their
clients are now using LinkedIn compared to last year. In 2010, some 55% of agencies reported
their clients used LinkedIn, compared to almost two-thirds (65%) in this year‘s survey. Three-
quarters of respondents (76%) report their clients now use YouTube, compared to 67% in 2010.

Agencies - 2010 results


Figure 17: Which websites do your clients use as part of their social media
marketing activity?

Respondents: 331

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 23

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6.2.2. Use of Facebook
Since last year, companies surveyed are more likely to be using Facebook for a range of different
purposes, spanning from marketing and sales to brand monitoring and customer service. The
biggest jump since last year is in the use of Facebook for customer service.

More than half of companies use the network for reacting to customer issues and enquiries, with
52% of respondents saying their organisations use the social network for this purpose, compared
to only 29% last year. Half of organisations (51%) are also using Facebook for gathering customer
feedback, another big jump since last year (37%).

However, the main use of Facebook is still as a marketing channel. Two-thirds of respondents
(67%) cited this last year, compared to three-quarters (75%) in 2011.

It should be noted that the lines between marketing and customer service are becoming
increasingly blurred, with many companies recognising that stellar customer service can result in
increased advocacy and free marketing.

The next most popular reason for using Facebook is for publicising new content, up from 61% last
year to 71% this year.

Over half of companies (53%) are now using Facebook for brand monitoring, compared to only
41% who said they used the social networking site for this purpose last year.

Companies
Figure 18: How does your organisation use Facebook?

2011 respondents: 340


2010 respondents: 271

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 24

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The supply-side responses below also indicate that the main use of Facebook is as a marketing
channel. Some 81% of agencies say their clients are using the social network for this purpose, up
significantly from 65% in 2010.

The use of Facebook for brand monitoring is on the up. In this year‘s survey, just under half of
respondents (49%) say their clients are using Facebook for this purpose, compared to 2010, when
just over a third (38%) were using Facebook for brand monitoring.

As with the company responses, there has been a big jump in the use of Facebook for reacting to
customer service issues and inquiries (from 28% to 49%).

Agency results
Figure 19: How do your clients use Facebook?

2011 respondents: 440


2010 respondents: 288

Voice of the expert


―It‘s disappointing that most respondents still seem to see social media as primarily a marketing channel for
publicising content rather than considering its potential for more comprehensive reputation management. The
danger inherent in this approach is it is focused too much on the needs of the company rather than the consumer
and other stakeholders.‖

Stuart Bruce, Digital Corporate Communications Consultant

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 25

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6.2.3. Change in the use of Facebook
In an open-ended question, respondents were asked how their use of Facebook had changed in
the last year. The mix of reasons for using Facebook varies significantly across organisations.
Some companies report that they have a more coherent strategy for Facebook in place, and that a
more focused approach has resulted in increased number of fans on the site.

How has your use of Facebook changed in the last year?


―We have grown significantly in the number of fans we have and thus our content has become richer as we
understand what our customer wants to see from us.‖

―We have a more connected process with other internal departments. Our customer services department is now
directly involved to look after any customer complaints, queries etc.‖

―[There is an] emphasis on a content-driven strategy, understanding why people follow us and delivering
engaging posts.‖

―More emphasis on gathering likes for individual pages on our site and using Facebook Connect for logins.‖

―Greater level of interaction with other pages and users. Introduction of competitions that are usually hosted on
the website. 300% more followers/interactive users as a result.‖

Other company respondents reported that they didn‘t use Facebook since it wasn‘t right for their
particular organisation. Some respondents said they felt the use of Facebook was more suitable
for B2C companies, rather than B2B companies. Others have streamlined activity in the last year.

How has your use of Facebook changed in the last year?


―We haven't tackled it from a business perspective. Consider it to be more B2C than B2B.‖

―We are B2B so don't use Facebook as we feel it would not help in generating leads.‖

―We started one and then removed it as we couldn't decide if we definitely needed Facebook and certainly
couldn‘t resource its upkeep so cancelled it.‖

―We have reduced number of pages and streamlined activity.‖

―We still don't consider it as a key channel for our B2B strategy though we want to have a corporate presence.‖

The agency responses indicate that more clients are experimenting with Facebook and trialling its
use within the organisation. In general, supply-side respondents are upbeat about how their
clients are using Facebook.

If applicable, how has your clients' use of Facebook changed in the last year?
―They are starting to think of it as more of a strategic marketing tool and not just one to push promotions.‖

―A Facebook business page is perceived as being the new 'Website' necessity. This is the opinion without it
forming a key channel as part of an overall strategy.‖

―Better focus on conversation, and a more flexible approach to 'test-and-learn' strategies.‖

―It has transformed from an ‗advertising channel‘ to more of an engagement channel as their personal and
professional views on social media as an industry.‖

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 26

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6.2.4. Use of Twitter
Over three-quarters of respondents (77%) now use Twitter as a marketing channel, compared to
68% in 2010. A similar proportion of companies use the channel for publicising new content. This
is unsurprising since Twitter has long been established as a broadcast medium for sharing
content.

As with Facebook, the biggest increase in the way the platform is used is for customer service.
This is highlighted by the 50% of companies who now use Twitter for reacting to customer
service issues and enquiries, compared to 35% in 2010. In addition, 40% of companies use
Twitter for gathering customer feedback, slightly higher than last year, when 37% of respondents
said they used Twitter for this purpose.

Over two-thirds of respondents (69%) use Twitter for brand monitoring, a significant increase
from 55% in 2010.

Companies
Figure 20: How does your organisation use Twitter?

2011 respondents: 361


2010 respondents: 286

Voice of the expert


―That more organisations are increasing Twitter use across a variety of processes, from marketing to customer
service and sales, is no surprise. Twitter is in its sixth year as a platform and has proven itself as an influential
channel helping brands interact with their markets.‖

Stephen Waddington, Managing Director, Speed Communications


The agency responses are shown below. The proportion of supply-side respondents who say their
clients use Twitter as a marketing channel has significantly increased in the past year, rising from
58% in 2010 to 73% in 2011.

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 27

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As with the clients, brand monitoring is an increasing area of growth for social media channels.
Some 59% of agency clients are using Twitter for monitoring in 2011, compared to 45% in 2010.

Agencies also report their clients are using Twitter far more for customer service. While 51% say
their clients use Twitter for reacting to customer service issues, 41% report the site is being used
to gather customer feedback. This has significantly increased since 2010, when a third of agencies
reported Twitter was being used for customer service.

Agencies
Figure 21: How do your clients use Twitter?

2011 respondents: 416


2010 respondents: 289

Voice of the expert


“Figures 18 and 20 illustrate the multi-disciplinary approach that many organisations are now employing with
Facebook and Twitter. If your customers and stakeholders choose to engage with you in their chosen channel
about a product/service issue, potential jobs or your sustainability policies, then you better be ready.
―It appears that most organisations have grasped that social media is much more than broadcast marketing and
that a planned, pro-active as well as a reactive multi-disciplinary approach to this can work well. I‘m especially
encouraged that more organisations this year are using Facebook for customer enquiries, feedback, intelligence,
innovation and recruitment. These uses are all valuable to the organization and are measurable.‖

Michelle Goodall, Independent Online Communications and Social Media Consultant

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6.2.5. Managing brand presence on Google+
Analysis of the free-text responses indicates that most companies are not doing much with
Google+, and some were waiting for brand pages to be made available (which had not been
launched when this survey was carried out but were launched in November 2011).

Some companies mention adding a +1 button on the site. Others mention frustrations with the
inability to use Google+ with a corporate Google Apps account, something which has been
remedied since the survey was live.

The agency responses indicate that many clients are not yet using or managing brand presence on
Google+, although the number of businesses using the channel is expected to increase now that
Google have officially launched brand pages.

Given its current status, how are you managing your brand presence on
Google+?
―This is something we had implemented onto our site, but have not done much with this since.‖

―Not hugely at this point. Have got as far as integrating with website.‖

―Not much to be honest - +1 button on site, not much more at this stage.‖

―We're not. Until company profiles become available. As we're on Google Apps we can't actually + things in our
corporate accounts either which is frustrating.‖

Given its current status, how are your clients managing their brand presence on
Google+?
―Some have looked, not many are using it. However, Google themselves haven't released the business targeted
update they spoke about some months ago so this is not surprising. In my opinion it is the wrong time for a
business to blindly dive in to such a new network.‖

―I think with the lack of Corporate pages it is not really a viable channel right now. It has a huge, immediate
install base but not huge adoption rates as yet - one to watch and grow with rather than an essential right now.‖

―We have not aggressively advocated the use of Google+ yet... we are still evaluating its strengths + weaknesses.‖

―[Clients are] waiting for the opportunity to enter as a company/brand rather than on a personal basis. They
prefer to focus their resources on the major networks, i.e., Facebook, Twitter.‖

―As an agency we are ‗watch and see‘. We are continually under pressure to demonstrate ROI to clients and we
don‘t like jumping on the bandwagon. However there is a risk that clients don‘t move quickly enough on this.‖

―[Clients are] ignoring until the time is right. That looks like a party you don't want to be first to (especially not in
the spending money stakes).‖

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6.2.6. Have you moved quickly enough on Google+?
Over half company respondents (56%) feel that their organisations have not moved quickly
enough on Google+, while 16% say they have moved quickly enough.
Similarly, the supply-side respondents [Figure 23] show that over half of agencies (58%) say their
clients have not moved quickly enough on Google+.

Companies
Figure 22: Do you feel your organisation has moved quickly enough on Google+?

Respondents: 421
Agencies
Figure 23: Do you feel your clients have moved quickly enough on Google+?

Respondents: 473

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 30

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6.3. Resourcing, agencies and technology
6.3.1. Number of people dedicated to social media activity
The chart below shows the number of people dedicated to social media activity. The results show
that the number of organisations without any dedicated social media personnel in place has
dropped from 29% in 2010 to 25% in 2011.

The average number of people dedicated to social media roles has remained fairly static since last
year. A third of respondents (33%) employ one member of staff for social media, a similar
proportion to last year (32%).

Company results
Figure 24: How many people in your organisation are dedicated to social media?

2011 respondents: 416


2010 respondents: 301

Voice of the expert


―More than half of the companies have less than two people (i.e. zero or one) dedicated to social media. However,
social media is very personal and such personalised experience (e.g. engaging customers in one-to-one
dialogues) is very difficult to scale. In fact, the only effective way for any organisation to scale with social is via
social. That is, companies typically can‘t ever hire enough employees to engage with the social customers. The
only effective approach is to collaborate with your customers and let them help you engage other customers.‖
Michael Wu PhD, Principal Scientist of Analytics, Lithium Technologies, Inc.

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6.3.2. Social media ownership
The results below indicate that social media is typically owned by the marketing department,
according to 70% of organisations. Just under a quarter of respondents (23%) report that a
mixture of departments own social media.
More than three-quarters (78%) of agencies [Figure 26] report that the marketing department
owns social media within client organisations. Some 29% report that a mixture of departments
own social media. ‗Other‘ departments mentioned include the PR and communications
department, which was cited frequently.

Companies
Figure 25: Who ―owns‖ social media in your organisation?

Respondents: 410

Voice of the expert


―The responses to this question probably reflect that it was the wrong question to ask. No one department should
‗own‘ social media, but one does need to take the lead in co-ordinating it. And if it is to be ‗owned‘, then
marketing is definitely not the department that should own it.

―With corporate communications or public relations co-ordinating social media, then you ensure a far more
holistic, integrated and company-wide approach is taken. Unlike marketing, PR already has to include every
aspect of a business in its planning including HR, legal and customer service. Marketing takes a far too sales-
orientated approach and this poses a potentially massive reputational risk with other stakeholders.‖

Stuart Bruce, Digital Corporate Communications Consultant

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Agencies
Figure 26: Who ―owns‖ social media in your clients' organisations?

Respondents: 464

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 33

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6.3.3. Implementation of training and governance models
Some 40% of companies have implemented training and governance models related to social
media, while 60% have not. Only a third (32%) of supply-side respondents say their clients have
implemented training and governance models.

Companies
Figure 27: Have you or your clients implemented training and governance models
internally relating to social media?

Company respondents: 414


Agency respondents: 466

Voice of the expert


―For banks, who are of course heavily regulated, it's important that client-facing staff understand the boundaries
of using Twitter. What bankers and any client-facing staff must understand is that what is said on Twitter is the
same as what they would say in a letter or on a [recorded] telephone line. We have clear policy and guidelines to
help manage this but it's still a challenge to get this message across.‖

Phil Allen, Head of Digital, Coutts

―The fact that 68% of clients have not implemented training and governance is a scary statistic. It's getting to the
point that brands and organisations need to stop monitoring and start implementing internal policies, guidelines
and develop a social media strategy that is in line with their mission statement. With social media, if an
organisation doesn't have the basics in place, more often than not, an eager employee will create the presence
themselves and this might not fit within the brand‘s preferred image.‖

Darcie Tanner, bigmouthmedia

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 34

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Voice of the expert
―Social media governance may be the least exciting element of any social strategy but it is critical and should be
taken more seriously. I‘m frankly shocked that 60% of organisations have failed to create even the simplest of
governance models. In a year when the Advertising Standards Authority extended its CAP code remit to include
social media, and brands continue to get called out on Twitter for unethical or illegal behaviour, every
organisation with a presence in social media must be aware of the potential issues and have systems in place to
mitigate risk.

―Lack of interest in training is possibly due to budget restrictions, but given the responses to how they view the
success of their social media activity and how many companies manage their own social media, improved
training and governance models should be much higher up the agenda.‖

Michelle Goodall, Independent Online Communications and Social Media Consultant


―The fact that more than 60% of companies have embarked on using social media without putting in place
proper governance is perhaps the best indication of why marketing is so ill-suited to ‗owning‘ it. Social media is
not just a marketing channel, but is to do with changes in society and the economy. It doesn‘t work to think you
can ‗control‘ social media via marketing, which is why you need the appropriate governance, policies and training
to ensure that every facet of the company is ready to respond to this change.‖

Stuart Bruce, Digital Corporate Communications Consultant

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 35

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6.3.4. Effect of social media on SEO
Almost three-quarters of respondents (73%) say their organisation considers the effect of social
media on SEO, while just over a quarter (27%) say they do not take this into account.
Just over half of agencies (56%) report their clients consider the effect of social media activity on
their SEO.

Companies
Figure 28: Do you or your clients consider the effect of your social media activity
on SEO?

Company respondents: 415


Agency respondents: 467

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 36

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6.3.5. Managing out-of-hours social media
Very few companies say they are currently managing out-of-hours social media, according to
analysis of free-from answers. Some manage out-of-hours social media on an ad-hoc basis, while
a handful of respondents use automated tools such as HootSuite, Chirpaloo and SocialOomph to
schedule updates on social networks.
A few respondents report they have team members and editors committed to managing social
media outside of working hours.
The agency responses also suggest that social media is either managed on an ad-hoc basis, or not
managed out-of-hours at all. Some agencies also manage out-of-hours social media on behalf of
their clients.
For those companies with employees managing social media out-of-hours, some agencies
highlight that some companies do not pay their staff extra for managing social media outside of
their working hours.

How do you or your clients manage out-of-hours social media?


―Dedicated person is ‗on call' to answer queries or cover communications.‖

―We have set up automated monitoring and alerts for crisis purposes but set expectations with our customers
that social media team members are only available during working hours Mon-Fri.‖

―Various members of the team monitor during evenings / weekend and alert Communications Manager of
anything urgent. Posts made out of hours.‖

―We don't. It's very hard to monitor and asking someone to constantly check the company Twitter out of hours
just isn't right. We have alerts set up should anyone require contact but this is largely not acted upon until the
next working day.‖

―Scheduling of messages to post out of hours. Signing off and signing on messages from customer service
advisers.‖

―We use Chirpaloo which I believe is still in private Beta. Chirpaloo allows you to set up Tweets (that can be
pushed on to FB) that can be scheduled up to a week in advance.‖

―The entire marketing team is responsible for vertically aligned content and generation. Out of hours isn't a
concern as we're in B2B.‖

―In an ad-hoc way. If there is something important going on key people generally tend to check and answer.‖

―Since we primarily manage our clients' social media, we tend to be responsible for this as well. Occasionally, our
clients will post on their social networks on their own, but most of the time they leave it all up to us.‖

―They don't have a conscious plan for this. Some enthusiastic souls are doing it on their spare time and are not
getting paid.‖

Voice of the expert


―It‘s worrying that some respondents interpret ‗out of hours‘ to mean scheduling messages to be broadcast,
rather than the more important element of actually listening, participating and responding. It‘s also not a
positive approach that some clients just let agencies ‗get on with it‘ which implies it isn‘t very genuine.‖

Stuart Bruce, Digital Corporate Communications Consultant

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Voice of the expert
―Managing out-of-hours social media is crucial to the reputation of a brand. Crises don‘t follow a nine-to-five
schedule. Have staff on call to handle crises. While work-life-balance is important, technology such as
smartphones would allow staff to receive key alerts pushed to phones, so that even small teams can monitor for
urgent social media happenings.‖

Stephen Waddington, Speed Communications

6.3.6. Agencies involved in social media and online PR activity


Just over half of companies (51%) report that they are not employing the services of an agency for
their social media and online PR activity.

Companies outsourcing this type of activity use a range of different types of agency. A fifth (20%)
of companies use their digital marketing agency, while 18% use a traditional PR agency.

A combined total of 28% say they use either a specialist social media or online PR agency (or
consultant).

Companies
Figure 29: What types of agencies are involved with your social media and online
PR activities?

Respondents: 414
Voice of the expert
―The diversity of approaches perhaps reflects the fact that this is still a fairly immature market and that everyone
still has different definitions of what they means when they say they do ‗social media‘. Hopefully it‘s a positive
that 51% of clients say ‗none‘ as most social media activity is actually better handled in-house than by an agency;
the external role should be one of consultancy to help clients develop a strategy, put in place governance and
training, monitor and evaluate implementation.‖

Stuart Bruce, Digital Corporate Communications Consultant

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 38

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6.3.7. Use of online reputation and buzz monitoring technologies
The chart below shows increased usage of online reputation monitoring technology since last
year. The proportion of respondents who say they are not using reputation monitoring technology
has fallen from 46% last year to 39% this year.
A significantly higher proportion of respondents are now using a combination of free and paid-
for tools, compared to last year. Some 17% now use a combination of free and paid-for tools,
compared to just 6% in 2010.
Some 8% use a paid-for tool exclusively, compared to 10% last year. In total, 25% of companies
use a paid-for tool compared to 16% in 2010. Over a third of companies (35%) use a free tool
exclusively for monitoring what is being said about their brand, compared to 38% in 2010.

Company results
Figure 30: Do you use an online reputation or buzz monitoring technology to
analyse what is being said about your brand?

2011 respondents: 414


2010 respondents: 353
Voice of the expert
―This beggars belief and comes back to the point about the importance of governance and systems. 39% of client-
side respondents do not monitor their brand? That‘s just like leaving your house or car unlocked…I was shocked
that 46% of respondents failed to monitor their brand last year, but given the array of free tools, training, blog
posts and advice out there, I simply can‘t believe that the message hasn‘t got through a year on.
―I can understand that organisations struggle with data overload or don‘t have the resource for monitoring and
intelligence gathering on a large scale. I appreciate many businesses can‘t afford commercial monitoring tools,
but a simple set of Google Alerts and monitoring key brand terms in Tweetdeck or HootSuite are free, simple to
set up and immeasurably helpful.
―There is an interesting question to be posed. Do the 17% client side and 22% agency side respondents stating
that they use a mixture of paid and free tools not wholly trust their commercial tools? Do they feel that those
tools don‘t provide real-time data quickly enough or have many of the major buzz monitoring players got their
licensing structures/pricing wrong and the free tools are used as a necessary back-up? ―
Michelle Goodall, Independent Online Communications and Social Media Consultant

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Voice of the expert
―I‘m not surprised that few companies are paying for monitoring tools right now, but I am surprised nearly 40%
are not bothering with free ones. Just one tweet or blog post can damage your brand, even if it‘s erroneous, so
why wouldn‘t you be watching what people say about you online? Think of it as an early warning system for a PR
disaster if you‘re not actually interested in listening to or engaging with your customers.‖

Mel Carson, Microsoft Advertising

The agency responses are shown in Figure 31. Over a third of respondents (35%) report their
clients are not using a reputation monitoring tool, significantly lower than last year when 45% of
agencies reported their clients were not using buzz monitoring technology.

Over a fifth of supply-side respondents (22%) report their clients are using combination of free
and paid-for monitoring tools, compared to 14% in 2010.

Some 29% of agency clients are now using a free reputation monitoring tool, compared to a third
(33%) in 2010, while 14% now use a paid-for reputation monitoring tool.

Agency results
Figure 31: Do your clients use an online reputation or buzz monitoring
technology to analyse what is being said about their brand?

2011 respondents: 468


2010 respondents: 303
Voice of the expert
―The buzz monitoring we‘ve been doing over the last year has been key to understanding how we're progressing -
not just in a 'likes' and 'followers' sense, but against competitors and wider industry. Taking the
recommendations from these reports provides us with a steady stream of enhancements we can make which,
when added to our own insights and objectives, ensures we've kept moving in the right direction in a focused
way.‖
Phil Allen, Coutts

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 40

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6.4. Budgets, effectiveness and measurement
6.4.1. Level of spending on social media marketing
Just under a quarter of respondents (23%) say their organisation is not spending anything on
social media marketing. This is slightly lower than last year, when 28% said they were not
spending anything on social media.

Over a third of respondents (35%) are spending up to £5,000 on social media annually, a similar
proportion to last year. At the other end of the scale, 11% of respondents report spending more
than £50,000, including 7% who are spending more than £100,000 on social media marketing
annually.

Company results
Figure 32: How much does your organisation spend on social media marketing
per year?

2011 respondents: 265


2010 respondents: 345

Voice of the expert


―Budgets are increasing as the value of social media is proven. We‘re often asked as PR practitioners to explain
the return on investment of social media. We encourage anyone that asks that question to head online and
explore the conversations taking place around their business and its markets and determine whether they have a
value to their business. Your competitors and your customers are likely already there, so you need to invest to
keep up.‖

Stephen Waddington, Speed Communications

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 41

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Some 6% of agencies say their clients are not spending anything on social media marketing. A
quarter (25%) report an annual spend of under £5,000, significantly lower than last year, when
39% said their clients spent under £5,000.

At the higher end of the scale, 31% report annual spending of more than £25,000. This includes
19% whose clients are spending more than £50,000 on average. Some 9% say their clients are
spending more than £100,000 on social media marketing.

Agency results
Figure 33: On average, how much do your clients spend on social media
marketing per year?

2011 respondents: 258


2010 respondents: 355

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6.4.2. Understanding of social media ROI
The chart below indicates that there has been little change in understanding of return-on-
investment since last year. Some 41% of company respondents report that do not have an ROI
figure for any of the money they spend on social media marketing, while 26% say they can
attribute an ROI figure to a tiny amount of the money spent on social media.

Company results
Figure 34: For how much of the money you spend on social media do you have an
ROI figure?

2011 respondents: 401


2010 respondents: 345

Voice of the expert


―This is why so many companies are yet to dip their toe into social media. They can‘t tell a good story of how well
their investment is doing, so they give up. At Microsoft Advertising, we measure ROI in terms of how much
exposure our efforts bring us, and the quality of engagement we have with our customers as a result. We also
take a look at how much we‘re saving in costs by establishing an authentic presence online. Too often the ROI
debate centres on sales and not how it can affect the entire bottom line.‖
Mel Carson, Microsoft Advertising
―It‘s a reflection of the immaturity of social media that some people are still obsessed with the notion of
measuring ROI, when in fact they don‘t have any true or accurate means of measuring ROI across most of their
business activities – but because those are mature and have always been done don‘t face the same level of
scrutiny.‖

Stuart Bruce, Digital Corporate Communications Consultant

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6.4.3. Expected change in social media spending over next year
The vast majority of respondents (some 79%) expect social media investment to increase over the
next year. Only 1% expect a decrease in social media investment.
The proportion of respondents who expect investment to remain the same has slightly increased
since last year‘s survey. A fifth (20%) do not expect investment in social media to go up or down,
compared to 16% in 2010.

Company results
Figure 35: Do you expect social media investment to increase or decrease over the
next year?

2011 respondents: 399


2010 respondents: 340

Voice of the expert


―Despite the fact that consumers are spending roughly as much time watching TV as they are online (moreover,
majority of their online time were spent on social media), a tiny fraction of advertising spend is devoted to social
compared to traditional media. I believe we are only seeing the very beginning of a tectonic shift, where
businesses are adapting to the changing behaviour of the consumers. I believe marketing spending will continue
to rise until they are on par with where consumers allocate their time, attention, and trust.‖

Michael Wu, Lithium Technologies, Inc.

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 44

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The agency results [Figure 36] show that 87% of supply-side respondents expect social media
investment to increase, while 11% expect investment to remain static over the next year.

Agency results
Figure 36: Do you expect social media investment to increase or decrease over
the next year?

2011 respondents: 458


2010 respondents: 287

Voice of the expert


―Nearly everyone expects investment to increase over the next year. But who should manage social media?
There‘s a turf war going on, no doubt. PR agencies are competing with ad agencies and digital agencies for
budgets. The identification of a community and development of content to engage with that community in a
participative relationship, whatever the media, is an editorial process and that‘s a PR job. But then I would say
that, I‘m a PR man.‖

Stephen Waddington, Speed Communications

The State of Social Report 2011 Page 45

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6.4.4. Value gained from social media investment
The proportion of respondents who are not able to measure value from social media investment
has significantly dropped since last year. Just over a third of respondents (37%) say they are not
able to measure value from social media, compared to 47% in 2010.

Almost a fifth of respondents (19%) say value from social media is greater than other marketing
activities, while 20% report social media is less valuable than other areas of marketing.
Meanwhile, 23% indicate the value from social media is similar to other marketing activities.

Company results
Figure 37: How would you describe the value your organisation has got from
social media investment?

2011 respondents: 379


2010 respondents: 347

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The supply-side responses are shown in Figure 38. As with client-side findings, the proportion of
agencies who say their clients are not able to measure value from social media has significantly
fallen, from 34% in 2010 to 21% in 2011. This is encouraging as it indicates that both agencies and
companies are more likely to feel they are getting to grips with measuring social media.

Agency results
Figure 38: How would you describe the value your clients have got from social
media investment?

2011 respondents: 444


2010 respondents: 293

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6.4.5. Metrics for assessing social media success
The chart below shows the range of metrics used to measure social media activity. Two thirds of
respondents (65%) report that direct traffic to the website is one of the three most important
metrics used to assess social media activity.

The next important metrics are brand awareness and customer engagement, cited by 34% and
33% of respondents collectively.

Looking at last year‘s results [Figure 40], significantly fewer companies regard sales as a top-
three metric for measuring the impact of social media.

Some 10% use the halo effect on other channels as a key metric for assessing the effectiveness of
social media. Only 5% cite authority metrics such as Klout or PeerIndex, indicating these
platforms have not yet reached mainstream adoption.

Companies- 2011
Figure 39: Which are the most important metrics when assessing social media
activity for your organisation?

Respondents: 398
Methodology note: respondents could check up to three options

Voice of the expert


―People are talking about our brand across social media all day every day. We can either listen, engage and be
part of the conversation… or not. The whole ROI question I believe will come through things like faster customer
service responses leading to improve client satisfaction, for example.

―I also think there's opportunity to acquire new business too but trying to tie down a £'s business case at the
moment is difficult. Focus on listening, engaging and having good content to talk around - if the focus on that,
it‘s given you'll see the impact in followers, likes, reach, brand sentiment, etc., which at the moment are the
metrics we need to track and measure.‖

Phil Allen, Coutts

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Companies - 2010
Figure 40: Which are the most important metrics when assessing social media
activity for your organisation?

Respondents: 345
Methodology note: respondents could check up to three options; options were slightly different in 2010
which is why we have shown in two different charts

Over two-thirds of agencies (69%) report their clients are using direct traffic as a key metric for
assessing social media activity. The agency results show greater use of sales as a metric for social
media than the company results would suggest. Some 30% of agencies report their clients regard
this as a top-three metric compared to only 15% of companies.

Agencies - 2011
Figure 41: Typically, which are the most important metrics for your clients when
assessing social media activity?

Respondents: 458
Methodology note: respondents could check up to three options

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The agency results from 2010 show a higher proportion of supply-side respondents last year said
their clients use sales as a key factor for assessing social media activity. In 2010, 39% cited sales
compared to 30% of agencies in this year‘s survey.

Agencies - 2010
Figure 42: Typically, which are the most important metrics for your clients when
assessing social media activity?

Respondents: 290
Methodology note: respondents could check up to three options

Voice of the expert


―It‘s notable that most of the metrics that are used are actually nothing to do with ROI, but instead look at other
metrics, some of which are important, others useful, and others less so. It‘s also interesting to note that it is
agencies who think that sales are most important, perhaps their clients understand better than they do that it‘s
usually too crude a metric as there are too many other factors at play to show a true causality.‖

Stuart Bruce, Digital Corporate Communications Consultant

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6.4.6. Justifying social media spend
Companies were asked whether it was easier to justify social media spend than 12 months ago
and, if so, why this might be the case. Some companies reported there was greater availability of
tools to facilitate this. In addition, companies (in the main) also said the tools are getting better.

However, one respondent reported that this did not necessarily translate into making it easier to
justify investment.

Agencies also reported that their clients were more willing to invest in the technology to measure
social media.

Tools for social media


―Yes, there are more monitoring tools and there is a greater take up of social media from consumers that makes
results and trends easier to see.‖

―The tools are a little better, but still hard work.‖

―Yes. Better tools available.‖

―Yes. More measurement tools and better understanding of the potential of the channel at higher levels.‖

―It is because there are more tools available to us to help us measure successes. Our clients are more willing to
invest time and money into better tools as well.‖

Companies are also reporting that they are interacting more with their customers and this is
resulting in a greater level of engagement. Agencies similarly report that more of their clients are
seeing the value from interacting with their customers.

More interaction with consumers


―Due to the large increase in audience seen on our social media channels, spend on this aspect of marketing has
increased and seen as an effective marketing tool. Plus it has generated great results with social-only marketing
campaigns.‖

More interaction with consumers and regular feedback on posts comments suggest that our demographic are
keen to interact in this way.‖

―Our clients are becoming savvier and seeing the value that interactions and two-way dialogues have on creating
advocacy. There is less of a focus on tangible financial return and more of a focus on brand awareness and
advocacy.‖

―Yes. The audience is growing. It's maturing; it's easier to show return, and definitely easier for us to track.‖

―Yes, it is easier because we have more engagement with our audience and can show live examples of where this
has helped the business.‖

Some organisations also report that senior management are seeing the value of social media.
There is greater knowledge and awareness about the benefits for social media for the
organisation, particularly as many senior managers have started using social media in their
personal capacity.

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Senior management buy-in and greater awareness
―Some Execs are becoming users and that breaks down fear factor.‖

―Greater understanding of global impact of social media.‖

―People take it seriously and start using at a personal level (not only Facebook but also Twitter and LinkedIn).‖

―Definitely easier, why, more people are aware and using social media - especially in the field I work in (non-
profit, philanthropy etc.).‖

―Yes it is, because clients seem to be more accepting that it is a credible and useful marketing tool.‖

―Yes, companies are realising that social is not just a fad.‖

For the companies and agencies who report that it is not getting easier to justify social media
spend, some report that they have still getting to grips with measuring return-on-investment.

Others report their organisations are still not recognising the benefits of social media.

Companies and agencies who report it is not getting easier to justify social media
investment
―Not really. Everything is still questioned and we don't seem to be any better at measuring ROI so struggle to
justify spend.‖

―Not yet. Organisation is only just waking up to the merits of social media.‖

―No. Marketing managers are starting to ask digital marketing teams to prove the effectiveness of social media.‖

―No, there is still no model to justify spend due to in-house tracking abilities for online ROI.‖

―Not really, not until there are some concrete ROI examples from small businesses.‖

―No, actually harder. The hype is decreasing a little bit, and customers often just want to cover the basics (be
present).‖

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6.5. Integration, barriers and trends
6.5.1. Integrating social media with different marketing channels
The vast majority of respondents (80%) report they integrate social media activity with email
marketing, indicating that there is clear synergy between social and email.

Half of companies (50%) integrate SEO with social media, highlighting the relationship between
search and social.

The biggest increase in the level of integration is for print media, with 32% of companies now
integrating with this channel compared to 21% last year.

However, fewer marketers are integrating other offline channels such as television and radio.
Only 8% are integrating television with social media and even fewer (just 6%) are integrating
radio.

Companies
Figure 43: Do you integrate social media activity with any of the following
channels?

2011 respondents: 332


2010 respondents: 275
Methodology note: TV and radio options were combined in 2010

Looking at the supply-side findings [Figure 44], email marketing is again the channel
respondents say companies are most likely to integrate. Some 69% of agencies report their clients
are integrating email with social.

Compared to 2010, a significantly higher proportion of agencies (40%) report their clients are
integrating print media with social media. Only 29% of agencies in last year‘s survey said their
clients were integrating print media with social.

Just under half of agencies (49%) report their clients are integrating social with SEO. This
compares with 60% in last year‘s survey. It is not clear why fewer client-side and agency-
respondents say that social media is being integrated with SEO.

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Agencies
Figure 44: Do your clients integrate social media activity with any of the following
channels?

2011 respondents: 409


2010 respondents: 252

Voice of the expert


―Integrating social sharing options within emails has become 'hygiene' as the survey results show, and is a
relatively easy step in integrating social media into existing customer relationship management activities. The
trends for the near future show that social media will be integrated more closely across all customer touch-points
to create seamless cross-channel experiences that engage with consumers throughout their relationship lifecycle
from awareness to advocacy.‖

Pipa Unsworth, Global Head of CRM, LBi

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6.5.2. Barriers to effective social media engagement
The biggest barrier to effective social media engagement is the lack of resources, cited as a
significant issue by more half of companies (52%) surveyed. The next biggest issue is the lack of
budget, which is cited by 30% of companies.

The extent to which lack of knowledge or understanding is an obstacle has significantly fallen in
this year‘s survey, from 35% in 2010 to just 24% in 2011. This indicates that companies may be
plugging the gap in knowledge, perhaps by investing in additional training and skills or by hiring
the right people to manage social media.

Slightly fewer respondents cited company culture as a barrier in this year‘s survey. Some 23% of
companies report this to be a barrier, compared to 29% in the 2010 survey. This may indicate
companies are becoming more familiar with the channel as social media has matured. Similarly,
the fear of reputation issues is only cited by 16% of respondents compared 22% in 2010.

Companies
Figure 45: What are the biggest barriers preventing your organisation engaging in
social media activity more effectively?

2011 respondents: 436


2010 respondents: 330
Methodology note: respondents could check up to three options; „disagreement over owner / lack of ownership‟ was a
new option for 2011

Voice of the expert


―It's slightly concerning that agencies and brands disagree over client-side levels of understanding in social.
Around 24% of brands indicated a barrier to effective social media engagement was a lack of knowledge. That's
down from 35% from last year. That's great progress. However, a whopping 47% of agencies judging their clients
suggested lack of knowledge was a problem and that is only down by 2% from 2010.‖

Andrew Girdwood, bigmouthmedia

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The agency results shown in Figure 46 significantly differ from the company results. Almost half
of agencies (47%) report that the biggest barrier for their clients is the lack of knowledge or
understanding about social media. It may be that an outside view is needed to recognise a
fundamental lack of knowledge. In addition, supply-side respondents may be more objective
when it comes to assessing a lack of understanding.
In sharp contrast to the companies surveyed, only 33% of agencies cite a lack of resources. This
compared to 52% of companies. Meanwhile some 30% of agencies report a lack of budget as a
problem for their clients.
Slightly fewer agencies cite the lack of senior management buy-in in this year‘s survey. Some 22%
now report this to be a problem, compared to 28% in last year‘s survey.

Agency results
Figure 46: What are the biggest barriers preventing your clients from engaging in
social media activity more effectively?

2011 respondents: 381


2010 respondents: 281

Methodology note: respondents could check up to three options; disagreement over owner / lack of ownership‟ was a
new option for 2011

Voice of the expert


―It appears that many brands fear a huge investment in social media because of (a) the lack of a good ROI model,
and/or (b) fear of losing control.
―However, as we saw earlier in the report, most brands still concentrate on the use of social platforms such as
Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn, where they (a) do not own the data, and (b) have less control over
the conversation. In order to derive a good ROI model, it is crucial to have full access to the complete set of social
interaction data and correlate them to your transaction data.
―Brands should have their own social media real estates and integrate with the popular social platforms (e.g.
Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn) to take advantage of their reach and virality. Using this approach,
brands not only have more control over the conversation; they also own all of the interaction data. ―
Michael Wu, Lithium Technologies, Inc.

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6.5.3. Impact of different trends
In the context of social media, the increased use mobile and smart devices is expected to be the
most significant trend over the next 12 months, with over half (54%) of companies surveyed
saying this is ‗highly significant‘.

The next most important trend is the increased use of social media marketing by competitors,
which is reported to be highly significant by 40% of companies. Over a quarter of respondents
(27%) cite the growth of Facebook as a significant trend over the next 12 months.

The growth of Google+ is deemed to be highly significant by 16% of companies, but only 9% of
supply-side respondents. Agencies may be more conservative about the growth of Google+
because a business version of the platform had not been released when this survey was conducted.

At the other end of the scale, although social TV is gradually becoming more important, only 9%
of companies say the impact of this will be highly significant in this timeframe. Over half of
companies (56%) say this will not be significant over the next 12 months. It is likely that
companies will see the actual impact of these trends on their business much further down the
line, rather than within the next year.

Companies
Figure 47: In the context of your social media efforts, how would you describe the
likely impact of the following trends and developments over the next 12 months?

Respondents: 385

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The agency results are very similar to company results. Over half (54%) or both agencies and
companies think mobile and smart devices will be highly significant over the next months.

Significantly fewer agencies than companies believe privacy legislation will be highly significant
over the next 12 months. Some 10% of agencies say this will be highly significant, compared 17%
of companies surveyed.

Location-based marketing is deemed by agencies to be more important than it is for companies.


More than two thirds (69%) of supply-side respondents say this will be significant over the next
12 months, compared to 57% of companies.

Agencies
Figure 48: In the context of your clients' social media efforts, how would you
describe the likely impact of the following trends and developments over the next
12 months?

Respondents: 433

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6.5.4. Most important trend affecting social media
When asked to identify the most important trend affecting social media (in an open-ended
question), a number of company and agency respondents mentioned mobile.

Mobile
―Travellers use their mobiles wherever they go and increasingly have smart phones - this means they're
constantly connected to social media. They're happy to share/publish both positive and negative comments with
the world so we're conscious of the need to be listening and responding to our customers' needs on an immediate
basis.‖
―The increasing rise in mobile users. Consumers expect to communicate anywhere at any time and get a
response.‖
―Growth of mobile Facebook - the numbers are convincing senior staff.‖
―Increase of mobile (and tablet) ownership - demand for more people to want to view and share our content.‖
―Mobile - information is more accessible than ever, particularly in emerging markets.‖
―Adoption of web-enabled mobile devices - most of our clients are Asian brands, and mobile is the key growth
channel in the region.‖

Aside from mobile, a wide variety of responses were given. Other factors mentioned include lack
of senior management-buy in, lack of a clear business case, changing consumer expectations and
increased use of social media channels, including Facebook and Twitter.

What is the most important trend affecting your or your clients’ social media
activity and why is this having such an impact?
―Engagement. Making sure the right messages are being delivered to a customer is so important and if you get it
right, this can lead to a great social environment.‖

―The biggest thing is lack of knowledge - there is a sort of expectation that social media is magic bullet that you
can just throw things at because everyone else is doing it. If there were a more integrated approach to planning,
more understanding of what is currently possible and time and space to do it well, that would be a start.‖

―Lack of senior buy-in is the problem. It's very much a shut door policy. I'm new to the organisation and aim to
change the approach.‖

―Media hype and industry bandwagons, especially from agencies with a vested interest in black-box work that
they can profit from.‖

―Customer service via Twitter. Expectation from customers that we have it - we don't, so are in the process of
setting this up.‖

―Facebook fatigue? Increasing number of fans doesn't translate into higher consumer engagement.‖

―Competitor activity on Facebook and Twitter. They don't want to be left out.‖

―The inability to respond to customer issues. This is having an impact because it is a basic, and it is difficult to
deliver on other objectives when the foundations are not in place.‖

―Lack of knowledge and fear. They don't know how to manage it because they don't understand it and hence they
fear it.‖

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6.5.5. Most persuasive device for social media
The smartphone is overwhelmingly deemed to be the most persuasive device for social media,
according to 73% of company respondents. Significantly fewer respondents cite other devices,
such as the laptop, tablet and desktop computer.

Voice of the expert


―The runaway winner of this year's social survey is, for me, the smartphone. Agencies and brands both agree
these handheld and internet-connected devices are super charged social media fuel cells."

Andrew Girdwood, bigmouthmedia

Companies
Figure 49: What is the most persuasive device for social media considerations in
your opinion?

Respondents: 385

Voice of the expert


―I‘m very glad to see that an overwhelming large number of brands and agencies agree that smartphones are the
most persuasive device for social media consideration. Prof. Fogg at Stanford University predicted this way back
in 2006 through his research in persuasive technology.

―From a behaviour psychologist‘s perspective, smartphones are more persuasive than other computing devices
because they can better facilitate the temporal convergence of motivation, ability, and trigger—the three
necessary factors that underlie every human behaviour.‖

Michael Wu, Lithium Technologies, Inc.

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The agency results in Figure 50 indicate that 72% of supply-side respondents think that the
smartphone is the most persuasive device for social media considerations.

Agencies
Figure 50: What is the most persuasive device for social media considerations in
your opinion?

Respondents: 438

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6.5.6. Replacing traditional marketing with social media
Companies were asked whether they had replaced traditional marketing with social media, and
the results show that, overwhelmingly, social media has not replaced traditional marketing.

Some respondents explained this further by reporting they had ramped up social media efforts
without cutting into traditional marketing.

One respondent said: ―No - social media is complimentary, not a replacement for traditional
marketing.”

Of the handful of respondents who did say they had replaced traditional marketing, companies
said they had downscaled direct mail mainly. One respondent mentioned replacing television,
while another said they had replaced marketing in magazines with social media.

However, it was seen earlier that there has been a large increase in the proportion of companies
increasing social media with print media.

The majority of agencies also concurred that social media complemented traditional forms of
marketing and that social was an additional marketing channel.

Of the agencies who said that traditional forms of media had been replaced with social, some said
print media has been replaced, while others referred to direct mail, billboards and newspapers.

Have you or your clients replaced more traditional marketing forms with social
media? If so, what?
―Not yet, however I can see it becoming a possibility in 2012 and beyond as the company's social media strategy
goes into effect and results are seen as a result.‖

―In terms of time and effort, yes. We spend more time producing social media content and engagement than we
used to.‖

―Not replaced but as a compliment. We have made all brochures and leaflets available on SlideShare. Did PPC
with in-house team rather than paying an agency.‖

―Paid search has decreased in favour of social media.‖

―No. We have reduced print media for online, but not necessarily social media.‖

―Not yet, but expect to see more focus on social media within the next 12 months with regard to brand
engagement and brand advocacy activity.‖

―Yes, although for the most part they use social media to supplement other activity. Traditional press advertising
is the area taking the biggest hit.‖

―Many clients are still reluctant about replacing traditional marketing - so they have been doing both. They are
afraid to give up on 'what has worked in the past' - although they are unable to measure the effect of TV,
newspaper, and flyer ads!‖

Voice of the expert


―Social media should not replace traditional marketing but augment it as another channel. Organisations need to
follow their customers. Joined-up marketing always works best.‖

Stephen Waddington, Speed Communications

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6.6. International campaigns
6.6.1. Running social media campaigns in multiple countries
Almost a third (31%) of companies run social media campaigns in multiple countries. This
compares to 26% in 2010 who said they ran social campaigns in more than one country.
Some 17% of company respondents run social media campaigns in multiple languages.

Company results
Figure 51: Do you run social media campaigns across multiple countries and in
different languages?

Respondents: 385
Companies - 2010
Figure 52: Do you run social media campaigns across multiple countries?

Respondents: 382
Methodology note: In last year‟s survey, we did not ask whether companies (or clients) ran multilingual
campaigns, hence there is no trend data

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The agency results below indicate that over a third of clients (35%) run campaigns in multiple
countries, white 27% run multilingual campaigns.
The 2010 results show that 21% of agencies say their clients run campaigns in multiple countries.

Agencies
Figure 53: Typically, do your clients run social media campaigns across multiple
countries and in different languages?

Respondents: 437
Agencies - 2010
Figure 54: Do your clients typically run social media campaigns across multiple
countries?

Respondents: 333
Methodology note: In last year‟s survey, we did not ask whether companies (or clients) ran multilingual
campaigns; hence there is no trend data

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6.6.2. Platforms and processes to manage international social
media
Companies and agencies were asked if they used any particular platforms or processes to manage
international social media campaigns. The majority said they do not use a specific platform to
manage this.

Of the respondents who said they did use a particular platform, the majority said they used
Facebook or Twitter to run international social media campaigns, while a handful of respondents
also mentioned they used management tools such as HootSuite or CoTweet2.

Others said social media was localised and managed by individual country managers. Some
respondents mentioned that this was a manual process and therefore highly time-consuming.

Do you or your clients use any particular platforms or processes to manage


international social media campaigns?

―We use Facebook and Twitter to do this, by creating local pages to promote and engage customers with
content.‖
―Wildfire CMS for apps, Facebook geo-targeting for posts. Hope to use promoted Tweets for targeting in twitter.‖
―Campaigns are localised and managed through our PR agencies in-country.‖
―Facebook has built-in translation tools for apps.‖
―No, it becomes a global/local team effort, with local versions spinning off in their own directions based on the
environment.‖
―Yes. Social Media Management tools such as HootSuite and CoTweet.‖
―No, it becomes a global/local team effort, with local versions spinning off in their own directions based on the
environment.‖
―HootSuite. Generally our clients are less able due to resources to generate multi-country adaptation strategies,
so it will be the same platform used for most messages and campaigns. Often [the] same message is accessible by
all subscribers to the specific social channel.‖
―Campaigns are localised and managed through our PR agencies in-country.‖
―No - very manual to date and time consuming.‖

Voice of the expert


―There are no borders on the web. Social media campaigns can reach international audiences whether it is
intentional or not. A push chair manufacturer found that to its cost when it tried to restrict a product recall to the
US. Reporting centrally is important with social media to ensure that regions don‘t contradict each other and can
work together to achieve objectives.‖

Stephen Waddington, Speed Communications

2Econsultancy has published a Social Media Management Systems Buyer‟s Guide


http://econsultancy.com/reports/social-media-management-systems-buyers-guide

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7. Appendix: respondent profiles
7.1. Geography
The majority of company respondents (60%) are based in the UK, while most of the remaining
companies are based in mainland Europe (14%) or North America (11%).

Companies
Figure 55: In which country/region are you (personally) based?

Respondents: 1107

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7.2. Annual company turnover
Some 13% have an annual turnover of under £1 million, whilst over a quarter (27%) report
revenue of between £1 and £10 million. At the other end of the scale, 44% report an annual
turnover of more than £50 million, including 32% that have annual revenue of over £150 million.
For respondents based in the US [Figure 57], 34% work for companies with annual revenue of
over $150 million, while 44% have an annual turnover of under $10 million. This includes just
under a quarter (24%) who report annual revenues of under $1 million.

Companies
Figure 56: What is your annual company turnover (revenue)?

Respondents: 249

Companies
Figure 57: What is your annual company turnover (revenue)?

Respondents: 133

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7.3. Business sector
Respondents to this survey come from a variety of different business sectors, including retail
(13%), financial services (11%), publishing (9%) and consultancy and marketing services (7%).

Figure 58: In which business sector is your organisation?

Respondents: 382

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7.4. Business focus (B2B or B2C)
Over a quarter of respondents (27%) work for business with an exclusively B2B focus, while 40%
of companies are focused on just B2C. Just over a third (34%) say their organisation is focused on
B2B and B2C.

Figure 59: Is your business focused on B2B or B2C?

Respondents: 379

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7.5. Type of agency
The chart below shows the range of agencies surveyed in this survey. Over a third of supply-side
respondents (34%) work for a digital marketing agency. Some 13% either work for a specialist
social media agency or as social media consultants.

Some 22% of respondents cite ‗other‘. This includes market research agencies, education
consultancies, and brand agencies.

Figure 60: What type of agency or company do you work for?

Respondents: 431

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