Social networks stopped being a playground reserved for brands that sell to end consumers a long time ago. We have translated the fourth part of the annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report for 2016 by Social Media Examiner — and gathered in a single piece all the numbers on what working in social media actually gives a business. This will save you 12 minutes of reading the English original. And along the way it shows where B2B and B2C strategies genuinely diverge.
The two main gains: exposure and traffic
The two core benefits of social media marketing (SMM) are greater market exposure for the business and increased traffic. 89% of all the marketers surveyed noted that their SMM efforts had increased exposure for their business. More traffic was the second benefit named: 75% of the survey participants voted for it. Most marketers use social networks to build a loyal consumer base (68%) and to gather insight about their market niche (66%).
The order of the benefits has stayed the same since 2015, and overall the figures changed by only 1–2 percent.
Here are the questions most likely to come to mind when you look at this chart:
- Can I get more benefits if I invest more time in social media?
- Did marketers who have been working in social media for several years get better results?
- Is there a difference between B2B and B2C?
The charts that follow answer these questions.
Sales growth
Building the relationships that lead to sales is long work. Even so, a huge share of the marketers who are willing to spend the time and effort on it achieve substantial results.
For example, more than half of the marketers who had used social networks for 2 years or more say it helped them improve sales. More than half of those who spend 11 or more hours a week arrive at the same result, and 74% of those who spend 40+ hours a week earn new business through their efforts.
Market exposure and new partnerships
Spending as little as 6 hours a week, the overwhelming majority of marketers (92%+) noted that their SMM activity increased market exposure for the business. Almost all respondents (88%+) who have been using SMM tools for 1 year or more say those tools drive exposure for their business.
The more time marketers invest in social media, the more business partners they find. More than half of the marketers who have been doing SMM for at least 2 years report new partners appearing. More than half of those who spend just 6 hours a week on SMM have managed to build new partnerships.
And this is where the first noticeable difference shows up: marketers who sell to other businesses were more likely to gain this benefit (60%) than those whose target market is consumers (53%).
Leads, costs and search rankings
The remaining benefits in the report are less obvious, but they measure well. Here is how they look in numbers.
Lead generation
66%+ of marketers who spend at least 6 hours a week report that social networks bring them leads. More than half of the marketers who have used SMM for over a year say social platforms generate leads.
Lower marketing costs
More than half of those who spend at least 11 hours a week on SMM activity report that their marketing costs have gone down.
Better search rankings
Improved search engine positions were named as an SMM benefit by most of those who had used its tools for over 1 year: 54%+ say their rankings improved. At least 59% of those who spend a minimum of 6 hours a week noticed that improvement.
More traffic
79%+ of the survey participants reported an increase in traffic while spending only 6 hours a week on SMM. And those who had used social networks for 1 year or more showed markedly better results: 73%+ named traffic growth as an SMM benefit, compared with those who had less experience.
A loyal audience and opinions about the product
Insight about the market niche
63% of marketers with 1 year or more of SMM experience report that social networks help them understand their market niche. At least 68% of those who spend 6 hours a week on SMM are more likely to gain insight about their target market.
Building a loyal consumer base
63% of marketers who have been doing SMM for over 1 year say that building a loyal base of followers is very useful. Even a small amount of time spent on SMM produces a positive result: among those who spend at least 6 hours a week on SMM, 71% saw the benefit of a loyal consumer base — compared with 54% of those who spend 5 hours a week or less.
B2C marketers (71%) build a loyal consumer base through social networks far more often than B2B marketers (62%).
Shaping opinions about products and services
More than half of the marketers who had used SMM tools over the last two years or more (52%+) were able to shape a lasting consumer opinion about the products and services they target. Most marketers (55%+) shaped the opinion they needed while investing only 6 hours a week. B2B marketers are more likely (61%) to use social networks to shape opinions than B2C marketers (50%).
Where B2B and B2C genuinely diverge
Both segments work with the same toolset — the difference lies in which benefit they draw from it most often.
| Benefit | B2B marketers | B2C marketers |
|---|---|---|
| New business partnerships | 60% | 53% |
| Loyal consumer base | 62% | 71% |
| Shaping opinions about a product or service | 61% | 50% |
The more time marketers invest in social media, the more business partners they find.Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 2016
Who answered: survey demographics
Participants for the survey were recruited by email. The survey ran in January 2016: invitations to take part were sent to 400,000 marketers. It closed after 5 days — 5,086 respondents completed it.
The largest group of participants (38%) works in small business (2–10 employees), followed by the self-employed (23%). 18% of the people who took part in the survey work in commercial organisations with a staff of 100 or more.
- Age. Most survey participants (69%) are in the 30 to 59 age bracket.
- Gender. Women edged ahead of men, making up 57% of all participants.
- Country. Most participants (52%) work in the USA, followed by the United Kingdom (8%), Canada (6%) and Australia (4%).
What to take away from this
The main conclusion of this part of the report is simple: results in social media are directly tied to the time invested and to how long you have been at it. Even 6 hours a week produce a noticeable effect on exposure, traffic and leads, while the advantage in sales and partnerships accumulates for those who have worked in social media for two years and longer.
This was the fourth part of the translation. We saved you 12 minutes of translating — we translate the most interesting English-language e-commerce and SMM material and publish it on the blog.
