Social media is an unconventional new opportunity
April 3rd, 2008 by Lloyd Gofton
I thought that might get your attention. Â
We came across some interesting research in the office recently (thanks Bill) that i wanted to share with you. It comes from TNS Media Intelligence Cymfony which is a U.S. market influence analytics company, that also spawned that little beauty of a headline (see bullet point two below).
I’ll admit that I’m not familiar with the company, but the research is certainly worth a second look. The piece in question focuses on Social Media’s progress toward becoming a mainstream marketing communications tool, titled: “Harnessing Influence: How Savvy Brands are Unleashing the New Power of Blogs and other Social Media.†check out the press release for further info.
The survey has a few little gems of information in it, and even professes to use an international sample (U.S., UK, Canada and France).
Here’s an interesting excerpt:
‘The leading barriers to social media adoption were the lack of both senior management commitment and best practices, followed by the absence of controls, standardisation, time and resources.
‘Respondents criticised marketing service suppliers for not providing sufficient expertise to help businesses understand and exploit blogs and social networks. They noted that many agencies lack practical experience in social media initiatives and tend to apply traditional tactics that may not be effective in this emerging media space.’
Of all the stats and information, I found these points to be the most interesting. It shows that social media is now entering a new phase of understanding. In the not to distant past we might have seen a similar survey saying ‘barriers to social media adoption were a lack of knowledge or awareness’. Now it seems we’ve moved on and those halting social media progress are the guys at the top, who are often slow to react, and those who should have the knowledge – the marketeers.
Although this still represents a considerable barrier i feel it is evidence of progress, and as both interest and expertise continues to grow, the ’95% that believe social media will grow in significance’ certainly seem to have a safe bet.
Here’s a quick summary of some of the key points:
- 49% of execs say social media should be monitored at the executive level and be allocated significant resources
- Some 30% of marketing executives agree that social media is an unconventional new opportunity that businesses must grasp with a sense of urgency.
- 95% say they believe that social media will grow in significance over the next five years.
- Asked about the uses of social media, respondents endorsed it as a strategic tool to gain consumer insights (37%), build brand awareness (21%) and increase customer loyalty (18%)
You can get a full copy of the research from TNS Media Intelligence Cymfony’s social media research site, but be warned it appears the sample size was ’70+ marketers around the globe ‘ so I’ll let you decide if that’s a robust sample size: socialmediainbusinessÂ
Tags: progress, research, Social media