by Fronetics | Jul 5, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
The latest social media statistics show growth of Instagram, social messaging bots, and video content.
We joke around here that one thing that will always stay the same is that social media will always be changing. 2018 has been a remarkable example of that thus far, particularly in regards to platforms like Facebook.
Every so often, we like to take a step back and look at what the data is telling us about where social media is heading and what that might mean for B2B marketers.
Social Media Examiner’s 10th annual study, 2018 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, surveyed more than 5,700 marketers from across the world in a variety of industries — including manufacturing, industrial goods, and a variety of other B2B verticals. It offers a really comprehensive view of what’s going on in social media in our industry and beyond.
I’ve pulled out 10 social media statistics from this report that I want to talk about in more depth. I think they say a lot about where social media is headed and what supply chain and logistics marketers should be paying attention to.
10 social media statistics for B2B marketers
1) For 64% of marketers, social media management is just one of their job responsibilities.
This one blows me away, knowing how much time and effort it takes to run a company’s social media program. Only about one-third (36%) of marketers manage social media full time. The other two-thirds have to do that on top of their other responsibilities. That’s crazy!
Supply chain, it’s time to recognize how important social media is for your business and dedicate the appropriate resources to social media management. If you can’t afford to hire someone to do it full time, consider outsourcing this task.
2) Only 44% of marketers agree they can measure their social media ROI.
Only 10% of survey respondents “strongly agree” and 34% “agree” with the statement, “I am able to measure the return on investment (ROI) for my social media activities.”
Again, I’m kind of blown away. As a firm that relies on data and analytics to inform our processes and strategies, including social, it seems irresponsible to not know if your efforts are effective.
Ok, on one hand, it’s actually really difficult to measure social media ROI. That’s in large part because so many of the benefits are intangible. You should really be thinking of social media investment in terms of potential, not dollars.
BUT there are some ways to calculate social media ROI and all your content marketing efforts. Here are a few resources:
3) 75% of marketers have seen a decline in organic Facebook reach over the last year or don’t know if they have.
A significant 52% of marketers surveyed said they saw their Facebook reach decline in the last year. Plus, 23% of marketers surveyed were unsure if it had or not — probably not a good sign. Yet 91% of B2B marketers are still using Facebook. Something’s not adding up for me here.
As we’ve written about a lot recently, businesses need to be keeping a close eye on Facebook in light of all the recent changes. While we at Fronetics are not ready to write off Facebook for business completely yet, it’s time to start doing things a little differently.
Here are four things your business should do in light of Facebook News Feed changes, for example. Stay tuned to the Fronetics blog as we continue to gather information and offer suggestions.
4) 87% of marketers rank more exposure for their businesses as the primary benefit of their social media efforts.
Building brand awareness is a key benefit of social media use for business. The Social Media Examiner survey respondents said that increased traffic was the second major benefit, with 78% reporting positive results. These top two benefits have remained virtually unchanged for 4 years.
That’s because, increasingly, more B2B buyers are using social media in their purchasing research. If your business is not on social media, you’re missing an opportunity to get your brand name in front of these buyers.
5) 78% of marketers who have used social media for 2 years or more report increased traffic to their websites.
[bctt tweet=”83% of marketers who have used social media for 5 or more years “strongly agree” or “agree” that traffic has increased to their websites because of social media activity.” username=”Fronetics”]
Also to note, 83% of those who have used social media for 5 or more years “strongly agree” or “agree” that traffic has increased to their websites because of social media activity.
I wanted to pull these social media statistics out because they reinforce the time-honored truth that content marketing (including social media management) is a long-term solution — not an overnight fix. The benefits, especially in terms of metrics like traffic, grow exponentially over time.
You have to allow time for prospects and customers to find you and for your audience to grow organically. Use your social media platforms as a means to distribute meaningful information to your target audience, to communicate with customers and prospects, and to share thought leadership, and it will pay off.
6) 66% of marketers are now using Instagram.
In 2016 and 2017, we answered a lot of questions about Snapchat. Founder of the Content Marketing Institute Joe Pulizzi named Snapchat one of the next big trends in content marketing for 2017. Everyone thought this platform was going to be our new social media darling.
Instead, Instagram has surpassed Twitter and LinkedIn to be the second-most-used social media platform. (It was fourth in 2017.) Use is up dramatically from 54% in 2017. Those are numbers worth paying attention to.
We don’t have a lot of supply chain and logistics clients that currently use Instagram, but we know it to be a great platform for brand building, especially in terms of recruiting and developing corporate culture. Stay tuned for more on Instagram for the supply chain in the near future!
7) 63% of marketers use video content in their social media marketing.
One content marketing trend everyone got right? The growing prevalence of video.
Not only do nearly two-thirds of marketers use video content in their social media marketing, 23% use live video. What’s more, 77% plan to increase video content and 63% plan to increase live video in the next year.
Here are some helpful resources to get you started:
8) 70% of marketers want to learn more about messenger bots.
Here’s a big takeaway from the survey: Everyone’s talking about messenger bots/social messenger apps. While adoption is still pretty low (only 15% are using Facebook messenger bots now), 51% of survey respondents plan to include them in future marketing.
It’s time to start reading up on social marketing automation tools like chatbots and social messenger apps. We’ve got a lot of information about these things scheduled on our blog in the next few months, so keep coming back for more information on how these tools apply to supply chain and logistics marketing.
9) 39% of marketers are working with influencers.
Influencer marketing is another trend we’ve been talking about lately. It makes sense: Buyers value the opinions of peers and colleagues. In fact, B2B buyers rank it among their top three resources for information. And, in general, 82% of Americans seek recommendations when making a purchase of any kind.
Here’s my original post on influencer marketing for the supply chain. Keep in mind, influencers can be your executives, employee brand ambassadors, and any other experts and thought leaders associated with your brand.
For some more information, start with these 3 Tips for Creating an Influencer Marketing Strategy for the Supply Chain.
10) Only 21% of B2B marketers are using LinkedIn ads.
Social media advertising is another huge trend right now. Yet, this social media statistic tells an interesting story.
Though LinkedIn is considered the business social media network, less than one-fourth of B2B marketers are using it to advertise. Compare that to 66% of B2B marketers that use Facebook ads.
There are many reasons for this, of course. LinkedIn advertising is quite expensive, whereas Facebook advertising is relatively inexpensive, for one. But, as Facebook continues to elude businesses, might this be an opportunity to rethink this strategy?
If you’re interested, I recommend reading the whole 44-page report from Social Media Examiner. There are a ton of really interesting social media statistics that offer great insight into how marketers are using social media and how it’s changing — both over the the last few years and in the short-term.
What social media statistics are most interesting to you?
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by Fronetics | Jul 2, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
The growth of social messaging platforms is a big opportunity for your business to reach your audience with targeted content.
Gone are the days when social messaging platforms are just about chatting or making plans with family and friends. You might be surprised to learn that “the combined total monthly active user count of the top 4 messaging apps has grown to 4.1 billion in 2018.”
[bctt tweet=”You might be surprised, according to Business Insider, “the combined total monthly active user count of the top 4 messaging apps has grown to 4.1 billion in 2018.”” username=”Fronetics”]
Just to put that in perspective, that’s well over half of the world’s population and — perhaps even more strikingly — dwarfs the 2.19 billion monthly active users that Facebook reported in the first quarter of 2018.
It’s official: Social messaging platforms have surpassed “traditional” social media when it comes to active users. Not only that, marketers are taking notice, and beginning to think about how to leverage messaging platforms to deliver content to target audiences.
Conversational content
As you might expect, a key element of successfully using social messaging platforms is to tell your story conversationally. This means tailoring your content to the specific wants or needs of your target audience, creating a compelling narrative with your content, rather than an overt sales pitch.
This kind of storytelling is fundamental to content marketing.
“Messaging and chatbots represent the next logical extension of the content marketing mission,” writes Chris Frascella of the Content Marketing Institute.
According to Thomas Husson of Forbes, “Messaging apps will introduce a paradigm shift for marketers where interactive and contextual conversations will replace ad broadcasting. New conversational interfaces will drive deeper relationships between consumers and brands.”
You may be thinking that this is all well and good for B2C marketing, but how does it apply to B2B marketing? But the truth is, if you have a content marketing strategy in place, chances are, you have a story to tell, and these are tools to help you do it.
Chatbots
Enter chatbots, the technology to turn your content into conversations. Chances are, you’ve already come face-to-screen with a chatbot and may not have even known it.
These computer programs simulate human conversation using auditory or textual methods. Basically, it’s software that communicates with your target audience inside a messaging app. Chatbots are already changing the way businesses interact with their customers — and with each other.
If you’re thinking that you’re about to be replaced by a robot, relax. We’re extremely far from AI technology replacing human interaction. Chatbots are a tool, and they need to be fed content and trained by human marketing professionals.
Tips for using chatbots
The first step is adapting your content for use in a chatbot conversation. “You can’t just duplicate existing content in your conversational scripts,” says Frascella. While the goals for your content are the same, the way it is delivered is different. That requires a shift in how it’s structured.
It’s also important to be mindful of timing. Because chatbots require users to opt into conversations, retaining permission to access your audience in this way depends largely on content and timing. This means delivering engaging, meaningful, and valuable content at regular intervals, but not intrusively.
For more ideas on creating a chatbot, check out this post.
Social messaging platforms are opening new doors for you to deliver personalized content straight to your target buyers. Make the most of this opportunity!
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by Fronetics | Jun 28, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Marketing, Social Media
Also in social media news June 2018: Instagram released ranking criteria for its algorithm, Apple expands advertising businesses with a new network for apps, and Facebook is cracking down on new requirements for custom target audiences.
Summer is in full swing, and so are the most popular social media platforms. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and even Apple are rolling out updates to make their platforms more user- and, more importantly, business-friendly. After a rocky spring with the Facebook scandal, social media apps are working overtime to make their relationships with businesses more transparent and overall user experiences more personalized.
[bctt tweet=”After a rocky spring with the Facebook scandal, social media apps are working overtime to make their relationships with businesses more transparent and overall user experiences more personalized.” username=”Fronetics”]
With transparency on the forefront, this month’s social media news is heavy with social media apps making updates that increase user privacy and subsequently, increase user engagement. Here’s what’s happening with your favorite platforms this month.
Here’s your social media news for June 2018.
Facebook enforces new requirements for custom target audiences
Facebook has released new requirements for advertisers creating custom audiences from user files. Advertisers will now have to identify where their audience’s information was obtained when they create new customer files. “Starting July 2, we will require advertisers to specify the origin of the audience’s information when a business uploads a new audience. When uploading a customer file, advertisers will need to indicate whether the information was collected directly from people, provided by partners, or a combination of the two,” writes Facebook. These new updates will help advertisers provide more transparency for users and increase advertising efficiency.
Google increases transparency over Google Ads
Google rolled out new settings to its ad features, making it clearer to users how Google Ads are customized specifically to them. Google is also sharing why users see certain ads by introducing “Why this ad?”, a new link that appears on ads. “The new Ad Settings and updates to Why this ad? provide you with more transparency and control over your Google ad experience than ever before. With these improvements, you can browse the web confidently knowing that you have the information and control to make Google work better for you.”
Instagram announces criteria for its algorithm
Instagram revealed the three most important factors that feed into its algorithm to determine which posts appear in a user’s feed. According to TechCrunch these factors include: interest, recency, and relationship. After ditching its ranking system in 2016 for an advanced algorithm, Instagram now says the new system has contributed to the platform’s soaring popularity, allowing users to see 90% of their friends’ posts.
Apple expands advertising business with new network for apps
Apple is looking to grow its advertising business by working with social media apps to distribute ads across their collective platforms. “Apple would share revenue with the apps displaying the ads, with the split varying from app to app,” MarketWatch shares on its website. Apple is hoping these partnerships will increase its advertising business by selling promotional ads in its App Store.
Facebook is expanding ads to include Marketplace
Facebook’s Marketplace is a part of Facebook that allows users to buy and sell products and recent updates allowed businesses to get in on the action. Facebook’s newest update allows businesses to purchase product ads that will appear in the Marketplace along with similar products and services. The ads have been tested among specific brands in the past few months and the results show increased purchases and year-over-year returns on ad spending. “Thread Wallets, an accessories company, generated more than 300 purchases while increasing its year-over-year return on ad spend by 41% after adding Marketplace as a placement for its conversions campaigns,” writes Facebook on its business site. In the coming weeks, advertisers targeting audiences in the U.S. and Canada can start using Marketplace ads.
Instagram introduces long-form video
Until now, all Instagram videos were limited to one minute, and Stories were limited to 15 seconds. But the Wall Street Journal reports that Instagram is looking to expand into long-form video, up to one hour in length. Though this hasn’t been confirmed by Instagram or Facebook, the WSJ writes the expansion will initially only be available in vertical video, meaning a video shot by a phone camera or on a computer, but eventually the app could include production videos and even programming.
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by Fronetics | May 31, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Marketing, Social Media
Also in social media news May 2018: Pinterest gives businesses more control over how users view their content, Snapchat offers skip-free ads, and Facebook is re-opening application reviews and chatbot development.
At the beginning of May, Facebook hosted its annual developer conference, Facebook F8. This year’s keynote speaker, CEO Mark Zuckerberg, focused on rallying developers to continue building for his platform, despite the recent controversies.
Facebook also used its annual conference to kick off some new initiatives, including:
- Clear History: a new privacy feature allowing users to delete data Facebook has collected from sites and apps that use its ads and analytics tool. This will allow users to scrub some of their browsing history from Facebook’s data store.
- Instagram’s new video chat: Instagram’s messaging has lacked video chat capabilities, until now. The new feature was created to win over users who currently prefer Snapchat for video chat.
- Translation abilities on Messenger: Facebook is slowly integrating translation abilities for Messenger, starting with English to Spanish translation, with hopes to expand to other languages in the future.
[bctt tweet=”Clearly WhatsApp is doing something right, announcing their stories feature, WhatsApp Status, officially reached 450 million daily active users. ” username=”Fronetics”]
But Facebook isn’t the only social media giant looking to gain new traction with users. WhatsApp, Snapchat, and even Pinterest have been making changes to increase user engagement. And clearly WhatsApp is doing something right, announcing their stories feature, WhatsApp Status, officially reached 450 million daily active users. This is a tough reality for Snapchat, who previously dominated the video stories space, but now only has a fraction of the daily users as WhatsApp.
Here’s your social media news for May 2018.
Marketers prepare for European Union’s GDPR laws
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new set of laws that provide “greater protection for consumers’ privacy and set strict guidelines on how personal information is collected, stored, and used.” These radical new laws will dramatically affect the way user data is collected and stored by businesses in Europe, including U.S. companies that do business abroad. The laws officially go into effect on May 25, 2018, nearly two years after they were initially passed by the Parliament. Fronetics is staying on top of these changes and will provide updates on any changes that occur.
Facebook clarifies advertising processes and data practices
At Facebook’s F8 conference, the platform explained the basics of how Facebook advertising works and answered tough questions about its advertising practices. Vice President of Ads, Rob Goldman, writes “We do not tell advertisers who you are or sell your information to anyone. That has always been true. We think relevant advertising and privacy aren’t in conflict, and we’re committed to doing both well.” He also highlighted how users can control, manage, and even delete their data from the site to opt out of ads.
Snapchat tests 6-second unskippable ads
On May 15, Snapchat started running six-second unskippable ads on select Snapchat shows. Once reluctant to run ads on their app, Snapchat is opening up to the idea after a tough year since becoming publicly traded. The new ad format called, yes, Commericals is hoping to boost advertising revenue and increase business opportunities.
Pinterest rolls out new business profile and insights
Pinterest just announced its new business profile that allows brands to “highlight the content that they want customers to see first such as their latest pins, specific boards, or most recent Pinterest activity on their site.” The new feature also allows brands to create statistics reports, including the total number of people who saw or shared your pins in the past month. These new changes are expected to go live in the next couple of months.
Facebook reopens app review process
In light of the Cambridge Analytical scandal, Facebook had stopped all application review and chatbot development efforts to focus on its privacy and data policies. But they have officially reopened the app review process “after making some changes to make it more comprehensive and grounded on ensuring that each of [its] APIs creates value for people, is transparent, and builds trust.” The improvements to Facebook’s platform policies and programs hope to encourage continued use of its products, including chatbots.
Instagram experiments with improved explore section
Not far off from Facebook’s tried, and failed, Explore Feed, Instagram is now testing a redesigned Explore tab for users to discover new content and organize that content into relevant topic channels. The new tool “is still personalized for you, but the content is now organized into topic channels, so you can browse across your interests and go deeper on any area you’d like.” The Explore tab will be available in the next few weeks.
Instagram adds improved tools for businesses to connect with customers
Instagram is adding the ability for businesses to receive new messages from customers. Originally these messages were filed into a pending folder and now they’ll be available directly in a business’ inbox. The app is also added improved call-to-action buttons, “which allow users to complete transactions through popular third-party partners without having to leave Instagram.” Additional features include the ability for businesses to star and filter customer messages.
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by Fronetics | Apr 30, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Marketing, Social Media
Also in social media news April 2018: Instagram shuts down API platform, LinkedIn’s updates aimed at helping B2B marketers, and Facebook expands split ad testing.
Facebook has been busy creating updates focused on user security in the wake of the Cambridge/Analytica scandal. Since the data breach, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has committed to protecting user’s information and outlined several initiatives in the works to “prevent abuse, protect personal data and privacy, improve security, and take down fake accounts.”
One of the key takeaways from the scandal has been the lack of regulations overseeing business practices, as it applies to user data. It is safe to say that new regulations are looming in the not-so-distant future.
[bctt tweet=”“Computer science is undergoing a ‘reckoning’ and an ‘ethics crisis’ not unlike what has happened in chemistry with dynamite, in physics with nuclear bombs, and in human biology with eugenics.” Yonatan Zunger” username=”Fronetics”]
Google engineer Yonatan Zunger wrote in the Boston Globe, “Computer science is undergoing a ‘reckoning’ and an ‘ethics crisis’ not unlike what has happened in chemistry with dynamite, in physics with nuclear bombs, and in human biology with eugenics.” These regulations could have major impacts for advertisers, who have been capitalizing on data collected by social media platforms. Regulations that limit the tracking and retaining of user data will especially affect target advertising that relies on capturing data from target audience users.
Fronetics is staying on top of these changes and will continue to provide social media recommendations and updates on regulations.
Here’s your social media news for April 2018.
Facebook Changes Include More Transparency Around Ads and Pages
Facebook is working to make important changes that are aimed at increasing transparency and authenticity. “By increasing transparency around ads and Pages on Facebook, we can increase accountability for advertisers — improving our service for everyone,” says Rob Goldman, VP, Ads, and Alex Himel, VP, Local & Pages, in a statement on Facebook’s website.
Last October the social media giant rolled out restrictions on electoral ads on Facebook and Instagram. This April, Facebook is expanding those restrictions to all “issue ads” — for example, political topics — so only authorized advertisers that have been approved by Facebook can run issue ads. These changes are aimed at preventing any additional user data and privacy issues.
Facebook is also enforcing a verification process for all admins managing pages with large numbers of followers. “Those who manage large Pages that do not clear the process will no longer be able to post. This will make it much harder for people to administer a Page using a fake account, which is strictly against our policies.”
YouTube Introduces TrueView Ads
YouTube’s new ad format, TrueView for Reach, is its latest update aimed at boosting engagement for advertisers. The format allows advertisers the ability to build ads from 6 to 30 seconds long, with the skip option available after 5 seconds. “Our six-second bumper ads were designed to drive more reach among the audiences you care about, especially as they become increasingly on-the-go. They showcase not only the fun of storytelling in six seconds, but also the benefits of adapting to consumer behavior,” posts Ali Miller, Product Manager, Video Ads, and Khushbu Rathi, Product Manager, Video Ad for YouTube.
Facebook Improves and Expands Ad Split Testing Capabilities
Last October Facebook gave advertisers the ability to create split tests in Ads Manager’s Guided Creation workflow. The new update this month allows users to create tests in Quick Creation flow, making it even easier to manage ads in bulk and test ads against one another. Quick Creation will also feature a dashboard that shows “standard KPIs for the ads in your split test, such as CPM, CPC, CTR and more, to inform your marketing strategy.”
Instagram Cuts Off Older API Platform
In light of Facebook’s data security issues, Instagram announced it is shutting down the API platform, effective immediately. They have also greatly reduced the amount of data developers can access per hour, dropping from 5,000 calls per hour to only 200. Tech Crunch reports Facebook’s bold action to reform its APIs shows it’s willing to prioritize users above developers — at least once pushed by public backlash and internal strife.
LinkedIn Rolls Out Native Video for Sponsored Content and Company Pages
LinkedIn introduced autoplaying native video ads that will appear in the news feed section as stand-alone posts, as well as the ability to include native video on a company page for businesses and publishers. These changes were developed to help B2B marketers grab the attention of their audiences and increase engagement. “While video is a proven and popular tactic to engage decision-makers, the challenge has been finding a quality environment in which to reach them.” The update will be available to all businesses in the next few weeks.
Twitter Expands its Official Partners Program
Back in 2015, Twitter introduced its Official Partner Program, a select set of companies aimed at helping brands increase their ROI on advertising, brand awareness, and scaling customer care. The program has been so successful, Twitter announced it’s expanding the program to include six new partners: Curalate, Jebbit, VidMob, Vidsy, Animoto, and Social Native. “Each provider offers a unique solution that expands the advertisers’ toolset and delivers high-quality creative for brands on Twitter.”
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