Contents Foreword Summary of ďŹ ndings The Power of Social Media Thoughts from Alastair Banks Market growth and trends How Social Media is being used around the World Why we created this survey The Results Investment in Social Media Use of Social Media Who ďŹ lled out this survey
Investment in Social Media Social Media Policy & Strategy Conclusions A quick guide to getting started with Social Media Top tips from Like Minds Legal considerations A look to the future Lets keep the conversation going About Optix Solutions
Foreword We've gone from thinking of Social Media as "gee whiz" and we're into the "okay, now what?" phase. Whether you're ready or not, your buyers and customers are using Social Media tools and networks to talk about you and your products. It's time to get a bit more understanding on what this means for you. The Internet of 10 years ago or even 5 years ago isn't what you're facing today. Now, it's a matter of real-time information streaming rapid ďŹ re through loose social ties. More sectors of society than ever before are embracing these tools to build relationships, to express interests, and to pursue information. For the ďŹ rst time in the web's history, search is losing ground to social search: asking friends. This is the new radio. This is the new phone. Learn how to engage, and seek your own success today.
Chris Brogan President of New Marketing Labs
Chris Brogan is President of New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency. He works with large and mid-sized companies to improve online business communications like marketing and PR through the use of social software, community platforms, and other emerging web and mobile technologies. http://chrisbrogan.com
http://twitter.com/chrisbrogan
http://facebook.com/dotchrisbrogan
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Summary of ďŹ ndings Top 3 reasons respondents use Social Media. (multiple choice question) To retain our existing customer base
To ďŹ nd new customers
Was Social Media originally part of your current Online Marketing budget? No
70% 73%
60%
30%
Yes
45% Top 5 Social Media platforms respondents spent up to an hour a day on. (multiple choice question)
To monitor what is being said about our brand
LinkedIn Facebook
Do you have a formal Social Media Strategy?
57%
Yes
68%
73%
37% 32%
45%
57%
No 4
Blog
YouTube
Summary of ďŹ ndings Other Online Marketing channels used. (multiple choice question) Search Engine Optimisation
Email Marketing
70%
78%
58%
52%
While the great majority of respondents see Social Media as a means to retain and grow a customer base, almost half have no measure of return on investment (ROI) against the social platforms they use.
Online PR
It is clear that Social Media is being used as part of a multi-touch marketing strategy for businesses. However, with the majority of respondents not measuring ROI or having a strategy in place - we have concerns that they are not capable of harnessing the best of these tools and ensuring success.
60%
Blog
Direct Mail Marketing
Almost 70% have no formal Social Media strategy in place, despite signiďŹ cant concerns over the lack of time, resources and knowledge required to use Social Media effectively.
Top 3 barriers for implementation of Social Media strategies. (multiple choice question)
71%
50%
On average 47% of those surveyed do not measure their Social Media ROI
43% 47%
Lack of resource time
Lack of knowledge
Unsure of ROI or value 5
The Power of Social Media Until very recently Google was the biggest referrer of traffic to websites but the increasing use of Social Media is beginning to take it over. In May of 2010 social networks accounted for 11.9% of all UK internet visits, while search engines accounted for 11.3%. (Source: Hitwise June 2010)
Before falling foul of privacy concerns, Burger King’s “Sacrifice ten friends” Facebook campaign went viral and resulted in the loss of over 230,000 friends.
Social Media sites enable users to participate in and build communities and networks of people who share similar interests and activities. This is possible through a plethora of tools and features, including discussion forums, blogs, videos, photos, instant messaging, etc. These sites quickly become part of the day-to-day life of their users, who develop a rapport with fellow members.
IBM’s network of blogs allow staff with different expertise to give insights into the latest developments and products across this multinational and multilayered organisation.
You can encourage interaction with Social Media networks and applications on your website via social bookmarks, allowing your customers to share information from your site with their communities and networks. In order to reap the rewards of this opportunity, you need to regulary engage with and contribute to these platforms.
As you are dealing with an essentially social process, it is important that you get the right balance between promoting a product and engaging. 6
Thoughts from Alastair Banks
Harnessing the enormous potential of Social Media is both the biggest online opportunity and challenge for businesses across all sectors. As a co-director of one of the South West’s leading Web Design and Online Marketing agencies, I’ve seen ďŹ rst hand how rapidly the internet has changed. Social Media is the latest technological advance that organisations are striving to get to grips with, but it is very different from traditional and online marketing tools. This process requires developing skills around engaging with existing and potential customers, establishing relationships with them and creating opportunity by listening and understanding what it is that they look for from your company or brand.
Alastair Banks Director of Optix Solutions
Alastair grew up in Essex before moving to study in Exeter, where he helped found Optix Solutions with James Dawkins while still at University. He now runs three successful businesses. Alastair believes in practicing what he preaches. His own blog http://iambanksy.co.uk is made up of articles and advice based on personal experience covering all aspects of starting and growing a business. He has recently gone back to his roots, starting a mentoring scheme for promising undergraduate students from Exeter University. http://twitter.com/banksy6
http://iambanksy.co.uk
http://optixsolutions.co.uk 7
Market growth and trends Facebook accounts for 1 in 6 UK page views and is the second most visited website in the UK. In July 2010 it accounted for 7.14% of all UK Internet visits and over half (54%) of all visits to social networking websites. (Source: Hitwise, Aug 2010)
About 2 million UK workers are spending at least 1 hour each day on social networks while at work. (Source: Bizreport, Aug 2010)
2 Million
55%
10%
10% of workers claim social networking while at work makes them more productive.
55% of the UK’s work force access Social Media at work.
6%
1 in 6
6% spend at least an hour on social networks.
33%
33% of workers spend at least 30 minutes on social networks.
More than 700,000 local businesses have active pages on Facebook. (Source: Facebook, Jan 2010)
YouTube now serves more than 1 billion videos per day. (Source: YouTube Blog Oct 2009)
67% 15 million
1 billion 8
Businesses with blogs generate 67% more online leads than businesses without blogs. (Source: Hubspot Apr 2010)
700k
There are now 15 million LinkedIn users on the European continent. This site has grown by around 40%, now with over 70 million users globally. (Source: Econsultancy blog Jul 2010)
How Social Media is being used around the World Unique Audience
USA 127 Million United Kingdom 24.2 Million
3.7 Million
2.9 Million
2.7 Million
46.5 Million
19.7 Million 2.1 Million Italy 13.4 Million
11.3 Million
16.4 Million
1.9 Million
1.4 Million
1 Million
Spain 15.2 Million Brazil 11.6 Million
11.4 Million
;
0.9 Million 6.6 Million 2 Million
28.7 Million
5 Million
5.9 Million
1.8 Million 1.7 Million
Australia 8.7 Million
1.4 Million
1.3 Million
1.1 Million
0.8 Million Facebook
Badoo
MySpace
UOL Comunidades
Orkut iG Comunidades
Flickr LinkedIn
;
Tuenti
Data taken from Econsultancy: Social Media Statistics Compendium
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Why we created this survey
We aren’t short of Social Media success stories. Who hasn’t heard of the millions Dell has made through Twitter? Businesses throughout the UK are keen to harness Social Media for their own similar success stories. This Survey was created to help form an understanding of how organisations throughout the UK are using the various platforms, what return they are yielding and gain an insight into their future plans for Social Media. A foundation, we hope, for your own Social Media success.
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The Results
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Investment in Social Media How much has your Social Media training cost to date?
How much of your monthly budget do you allocate to Social Media?
We are not using Social media More than £500
More than £500
We are not using Social media
7%
12%
18%
7% Under £500
£100-500
15%
I am self taught £0-99
75%
56%
10%
There is no denying how cost effective Social Media has been for respondents, with the majority professing to be self taught and investing less than £500 a month.
Top 5 Social Media sites respondents spent up to an hour a day on. (multiple choice question)
LinkedIn, up to an hour a day
73% 12
Facebook, up to an hour a day
57%
Twitter, up to an hour a day
57%
YouTube, up to an hour a day
45%
Blog, up to an hour a day
36%
Use of Social Media How long have you been using Social Media as part of your marketing strategy? More than 2 years
1 year and 6 months to 2 years
10%
Over 50% of respondents had started using Social Media within the past 12 months of partaking in the Survey.
6 Months to 1 year
31%
5%
Only 10% of respondents had been using Social Media for more than 2 years.
1 year to 1 year 6 months
13%
15% 26% Less than 6 months
More than half of respondents engage with and/or use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogs as part of their Social Media strategy. Despite being the second largest search engine in the world, less than 50% of respondents used YouTube.
We are not using Social media
Top 5 Social Media sites respondents plan to use over the next 12 months. (multiple choice question) Twitter Blog Facebook
90%
67% 47%
64%
73%
YouTube 13
Use of Social Media What type of business are you? B2C
Whilst the majority of respondents saw Social Media’s positive potential in ďŹ nding new customers and retaining existing ones, it was also seen as a monitoring tool, both of feedback on own brand and to keep informed of competitors.
10%
30% 47%
Almost 10% of respondents admitted to introducing Social Media because their competitors had done so.
B2B
B2B & B2C
Top 5 reasons respondents were using Social Media. (multiple choice question) To retain our existing customer base
73% 14
To ďŹ nd new customers
60%
To monitor what is being said about our brand
45%
To keep ahead of our competitors
42%
To monitor our competitors
36%
Who filled out this survey? The most popular sectors for respondents were Media, Creative, Marketing, PR and Advertising, followed closely by Management, Non Profit, IT, Recruitment and Retail.
What sector do you work within? Accountancy
3%
7% Legal
IT
4% Media, Creative
13% Marketing, PR Advertising
22% 6%
Sports & Leisure
Management
Other
Recruitment
3% 4%
Engineering & Manufacturing
8% 8%
Public sectors & services
51% of respondents reported having less than 100 customers, while 49% reported having over 100 customers, reflective of the power Social Media has to engage with audiences of all sizes.
11-100
0-10
Non Profit, Charities
32%
19%
5% 6%
How many customers do you have?
Retail
11%
101-500
17%
32%
500+ 15
Investment in Social Media Has a portion of your existing marketing budget been allocated to Social Media?
Was Social Media originally part of your current Online Marketing budget? Yes
Yes
70%
64%
36% No
No
Will Social Media be a part of your next budget?
Where did the funding for your Social Media budget come from? External grant
Yes
No
1%
38%
27%
It’s already a part of our budget
35% 16
30%
Creation of new budgets
40%
Moving funds from one budget to another
59%
Investment in Social Media How much do you invest in Social Media each month? The most profound finding was that 45% of respondents had no measure in place for return on investment (ROI).
More than £500 We do not use Social Media
7%
18%
3% of respondents reported returns in excess of £50k through their blog, followed by 2% attributing similar success trhough Twitter and 1% through LinkedIn.
75% Under £500
How much ROI can you attribute to the following Social Media sites? (multiple choice question)
Twitter, £5-10k
LinkedIn, £1-5k Blog, £50k+ Flickr, £25-50k
Facebook, £500-1k
3% 4%
2% Twitter, £1k-5k
3%
I don’t measure ROI
5% 45%
11%
5% Facebook, £1-500
2%
LinkedIn, £25-30k
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Social Media Policy & Strategy
Does your company have a Social Media Policy for staff?
Do you have a formal Social Media Strategy?
Yes
74%
Yes
68%
26%
No
32%
No
Data Collection
Acknowledgements
The results of this survey were collected online.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all that took the time to contribute to this publication.
Promoted via: LikeMinds Conference Social Media channels Email marketing Traditional media
For a full list of our acknowledgments, please visit: http://optixsolutions.co.uk/smsurvey2010
The survey ran for a period of 10 months in total. 18
Conclusions
For true success in employing Social Media you should ensure you have provided all the tools to empower your internal team and make using it part of their daily working routine. It is important to back this up with a proper strategy – one that ďŹ ts with and into an overall online marketing strategy. Although many respondents did claim to have a Social Media strategy in place, the majority didn’t have a Social Media policy or measure ROI. To ensure a consistent, informed and coherent approach to Social Media, all three elements need to be brought together. The huge growth in the amount of time spent on Social Media sites, and the ever-increasing number of businesses establishing a presence on them, make it vital to develop a structured and coherent approach to Social Media; differentiating your business and brand, while delivering consistent messages.
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A quick guide to getting started with Social Media 1
2
3
4
5 20
Develop a Social Media Strategy. Spend time defining who you are targeting, what you are hoping to achieve and how you are going to go about achieving it by identifying which of the Social Media networks are most suitable. This should include identifying key words and phrases relating to your business, i.e. ‘web design, Exeter’, that you want to monitor. These are useful catalysts for beginning to establish engagement.
Identify who in your business can be your Social Media ‘champions’.
Invest in training to ensure that staff know how to use the platforms they will be expected to engage in properly – and ensure they have spent some time learning how others are using each channel before allowing them to throw themselves into it.
Allow all staff, especially sceptics, to buy into the process by ensuring they understand what you are trying to achieve and why.
Develop a Social Media policy and ensure it is signed by all staff. Incorporate it into your HR processes.
A quick guide to getting started with Social Media Invest in equipment. You may need to equip your Social Media ‘champions’ with a video camera, laptop, mobile phone, etc… to enable and support their engagement.
Make the leap and start engaging via the channels you have identified in your Social Media strategy.
Ensure customers are made aware of your presence on Social Media sites and encourage them to engage with you.
Ensure that you are regularly measuring and optimising what you are doing so you can increase success by identifying your achievements and new opportunities.
Don’t neglect other forms of advertising and promotion – Social Media is a key part of a marketing mix, not the whole package.
7
8
9
10
:)
Enjoy it! Socialising should be fun.
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Top Tips from Like Minds Like Minds was founded in August 2009 amidst the boom of Social Media. Their mission is to create a platform through conferences held around the world, where participants can join fellow “like minds” in order to inspire one another and make those ideas happen, all on a level that is accessible both financially and structurally. Ask not what the internet can do for you, ask what you can do for the Internet. There is no secret to Social Media. You could rename it participation media or relationship media - it would all echo the same sentiment of enabling people to get involved. Some want to get involved a little, and some a lot, as is bourne out in this report. But the beginning and the end of it is around providing a platform that matters to people. Scott Gould Scott Gould is co-founder of Like Minds, where he is connecting people across the world through talking and then doing. He is internationally recognised as a leader in Social Media and community, working with Fortune 500 companies and speaking at events across the world. http://twitter.com/scottgould
http://scottgould.me
http://wearelikeminds.com
Social Media takes me around the world, in person, and gives me a chance to talk with people face-to-face. Those face-to-face conversations reveal what I believe are the fundamental drivers of Social Media: 1) everyone wants to be heard, 2) everyone wants to be understood, and 3) everyone wants to know his or her life matters. Trey Pennington Trey is leveraging Social Media to connect with audiences around the world. HubSpot ranks his Facebook profile as the #4 most influential in the world. They also routinely rank his Twitter profile in the top 0.1% of all profiles ranked. http://twitter.com/treypennington 22
http://treypennington.com
Top Tips from Like Minds The socialisation of Media marks the end of corporate communications as a top down, command-and-control channel. It is an evolutionary leap in the way humans interact. Olivier Blanchard
Olivier is a Brand Strategist with 15 years of marketing management experience across a variety of B2B and B2C industries, from manufacturing and distribution to new media and consumer goods. He currently manages BrandBuilder Marketing, a brand consulting and marketing management firm. http://twitter.com/thebrandbuilder
http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com
Make sure you join LinkedIn NOW! Create a WOW (buyer friendly) profile and add all your “Raving Fans” and contacts. But, MOST IMPORTANTLY, don't forget to reach out and ask for the... appointment, project or job. “Navel gazing” is just not an option. Julian Summerhayes Julian Summerhayes is a Social Media consultant to the professional services sector, and, having worked as a lawyer for 14 years, he is able to offer key strategic advice to leverage a firm's creative intellectual capital. In short, he walks the talk. http://twitter.com/0neLife
http://juliansummerhayes.com
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Legal considerations Whether you are using Social Media for business or personal reasons, it is important that you understand the legal issues which could cause problems for you and your organisation.
As Social Media continues to grow and develop so do the legal considerations. On one hand businesses have looked to restrict or even prohibit staff using Social Media in the workplace, whilst at the same time they are looking to embrace the opportunities that it brings. Social Media is here to stay and its use both in the private and business environment will increase. The opportunity for businesses to capitalise on Social Media and increase its market knowledge and reach are massive, but it is imperative that this is done in a manner which does not expose a business to unnecessary and costly legal disputes. Anyone embarking on a Social Media campaign needs to consider a number of legal areas including data protection, employee rights, potential defamation/libel, breach of confidentiality and protection or infringement of intellectual property. Garry Mackay Partner, Ashfords LLP Garry is a Partner in Ashfords’ Intellectual Property and Information Technology Team. He advises clients on their commercial agreements and in particular IT contracts. His work includes outsourcing agreements, software licensing, development agreements, maintenance contracts and major commercial project agreements. Ashfords LLP is a full service law firm providing a broad range of legal services to both commercial and private clients. As a major law firm, Ashfords serves regional, national and international clients. Ashfords size and experience means that they are able to provide a wide range of expertise to meet their clients needs. http://ashfords.co.uk
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A look to the future
When we created the survey back at the beginning of 2010, the social landscape had a very different form to that you’ll find now. Geo-location services were in their infancy in the UK, so we didn't include questions on them. Platforms like Foursquare, Gowalla and now Facebook Places were relatively unused or non-existent. Now they are coming into their own, look out for more retail and B2C businesses using these ‘check-in’ services to reward regular customers going into 2011. Mobile Apps, such as Qype and Voucher Cloud, are getting more traction and offer end users and businesses excellent ways of finding each other. The landscape is evolving and it’s exciting; who knows what we'll be writing about next year... Alastair Banks
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Lets keep the conversation going This survey is not the end. Social Media platforms continue to evolve and there is always something to say, so why not join us and share your comments? LinkedIn Group: http://linkd.in/aB6DZ1 Twitter: #smsurvey Blog: http://optixsolutions.co.uk/blog/ Whether you have a comment or question on the results of this survey or want to share your own experiences with Social Media, we want to hear all about it.
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About Optix Solutions
Optix Solutions Ltd is among the UK’s leading and most innovative web design & online marketing agencies. Based in Devon, our client base includes some of the country’s leading companies and organisations. We specialise in providing bespoke online solutions, including all aspects of website design, development and online marketing. We work in partnership with our clients, building a thorough and ongoing understanding of an individual business, the market it operates in and its future development. We have been working with Social Media, both internally and with businesses looking to employ it effectively, for the past few years. Part of our reason for conducting this survey was to measure our experience of Social Media usage against that of other businesses, and identify the principal challenges they face in employing Social Media to optimum benefit. For more information on us, please visit: http://optixsolutions.co.uk http://facebook.com/optixsolutions http://youtube.com/optixsolutions http://twitter.com/optixsolutions