Social media marketing in Malta (2014)

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Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Executive Summary....................................................................................................................................... 4 Key Findings .................................................................................................................................................. 5 Demographics of Participants ....................................................................................................................... 7 Local Marketers’ Use of Social Media ........................................................................................................... 8 The Time and Experience Factor................................................................................................................. 10 The Importance of Social Media for Businesses ......................................................................................... 12 Benefits of Social Media Marketing ............................................................................................................ 13 Social Maturity among Local Marketers ..................................................................................................... 14 The Concerns about Social Media Marketing ............................................................................................. 15 Commonly Used Social Channels ................................................................................................................ 16 Interest ........................................................................................................................................................ 17 Highest Return on Investment .................................................................................................................... 18 Social Media Channels as Advertising Platforms ........................................................................................ 19 Outsourcing................................................................................................................................................. 20 Keeping Up to Date ..................................................................................................................................... 21 About the Author ........................................................................................................................................ 23 About ICON ................................................................................................................................................. 23

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Introduction “Social media” is one of the most commonly used terms in the 21st century. It defines the Internet and lends itself to a world of sharing opinions, expressing oneself, promoting, advertising and leaving little room for privacy.

Today, nearly one in four people worldwide use social networks1. Facebook has over 1.32 billion active users monthly 2 whilst two new members join LinkedIn every second3. Around 60 million photos are uploaded to Instagram every day, generating around 1.6 billion daily likes in total.4 Social media became part of many business’ marketing strategies. In fact, research shows that 93% of marketers worldwide use social media for their businesses5. It has helped to further reach out to customers, extend to markets beyond a geographic area, increase opportunities to interact with current and potential clients, generate leads as well as target specific markets. Social networks took the marketing world by storm, opening many doors for small and large businesses alike.

Data about the local use of such channels by businesses is limited. ICON was among the first to conduct this type of market research in 2011, aiming to find out more about marketers’ opinion of social channels, their fears and intentions. With the onset of many new channels and the increase in its users, ICON returned to the study to give further insight and knowledge about the use of social media marketing in Malta in 2014.

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Source : http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Social-Networking-Reaches-Nearly-One-Four-Around-World/1009976 accessed on 02/08/14 2 Source : http://investor.fb.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=861599 accessed on 02/08/14 3 Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/belle-beth-cooper/10-surprising-social-medi_b_4325088.html accessed on 03/08/14 4 Source : http://instagram.com/press/ accessed on 03/04/14 5 Source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/belle-beth-cooper/10-surprising-social-mdedi_b_4325088.html accessed on 03/04/14

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Executive Summary This study surveyed just over 350 local marketers with the goal of understanding how they make use of social media to grow and promote their businesses. The results from 2014 are then compared to those obtained three years ago, looking into whether the marketers’ use of such channels has changed or not. In this report you will discover: 1) How many marketers use social media for marketing in Malta: We also analysed the reasons why some businesses choose NOT to use these channels.

2) The importance and benefits of social media as perceived by marketers: We enquired about the importance of using social media channels to market a business and further asked respondents to identify the benefits they perceive from using these tools.

3) The top social media concerns that marketers want addressed: As much as social media tools may be useful, marketers can be faced with difficulties and concerns.

Whether it is measuring the effect of social media on their business or managing to merge all channels into a single marketing strategy, we asked marketers to voice their concerns.

4) The most used social channels Nowadays there are various social networks available. We identified which networks are most commonly used by local marketers and which channels deliver the highest return on investment.

5) How marketers keep themselves updated with industry trends: We analysed which channel(s) marketers would like to learn more about and how they keep up to date with social media trends and news.

6) How companies plan their budgets: Participants were asked whether they advertise on social media at all and if so on which site(s) are they more likely to do so. We also looked at social media outsourcing and the role that third party agencies play when it comes to social campaigns’ execution.

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