TrustRadius Report Finds Marketers Still Struggle to Define Goals, Direction, Business Impact With Social Media

Social Marketers Survey Finds ROI, Social Integration and Measurement Top the List of Major Brand Challenges

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwired - June 02, 2015) - Simply Measured, the leading social analytics platform, today announced the release of the 2015 Social Media Marketing Trends report. Authored by Megan Headley, Research Director at TrustRadius, the leading peer review site for business software, the report analyzes responses from over 600 social media marketers, from CMOs to community managers. The survey highlights the confusion social marketers are expressing with regards to social marketing direction, overall goals, and where to focus assets. Of top concern to businesses of all sizes and maturity levels is calculating social ROI and demonstrating the business value derived from social media activities. In addition, the study demonstrates widespread confusion in organizations regarding the role of social media, and emphasizes the need for stronger alignment and integration with the larger marketing team.

Additional key findings from the 2015 Social Media Marketing Trends report from TrustRadius include:

Struggle to demonstrate social marketing value still the top concern for organizations of all sizes and maturity levels. The struggle to demonstrate the value of social media for businesses has been plaguing the industry for years, however with the more sophisticated tools available to collect and combine data, it is interesting that this weak point remains the top challenge in 2015. Other top challenges included measuring ROI (related to challenge number one), and developing a social media strategy.

Engagement, audience and website traffic noted as symbols of success for social marketers. Despite the deep desire by brands to tie social metrics to ROI, most companies still rely heavily on vanity metrics (likes, shares, followers and fans) to evaluate success. All of these metrics are easy to measure, however they don't always tie directly to goals such as revenue or customer retention. Metrics that are more difficult to track (yet tie more directly to broad business goals) such as revenue or customer satisfaction are among the top three for less than a quarter of respondents.

Brand awareness is the leading goal for social. The focus of social media activities according to respondents is decidedly top-of-funnel with brand awareness listed as the top priority for 71 percent of marketers surveyed. Secondary goals include website traffic and audience reach/share of voice.

Social media strategy still isn't aligned with broader business goals. Most marketers surveyed feel they can effectively utilize social media data within the marketing silo, however that number drops significantly when asked how social media data affects their company's overall business strategy. While the potential of social data to be used in the rest of the industry is a topic of discussion, usage is still not widespread. More mature businesses appeared to be able to leverage social data in their marketing as well as overall strategies. Additionally, the study found that companies who use a dedicated tool for social media analytics are better able to leverage data than those who don't.

"Social media is one of the newest and fastest growing elements of business," said Megan Headley, Research Director at TrustRadius. "While social media management was once a one-person tactic, in more mature companies, it is now becoming an integrated function that has the ability to drive insights and strategy for the entire company. The ability to manage, measure and analyze social activities is becoming a key element of success in certain areas."

To learn more about Simply Measured's social analytics platform, or view additional insights from the free 2015 Social Media Marketing Trends report, visit www.simplymeasured.com, read more on the Simply Measured blog, or attend our webinar, June 9th, 2015, by registering here.

About Simply Measured
Simply Measured is the leading social analytics solution used by brands across the globe to quantify performance, determine impact, and derive strategic direction from social media data. With more than 40 unique reports sourced from the top social platforms including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Tumblr, Instagram, YouTube, Vine and Pinterest, Simply Measured turns social media data into beautiful, customizable reports that are easily analyzed and shared. Based in Seattle, Washington, Simply Measured supports more than 45 percent of the Interbrand 100 and has more than 100,000 users. Learn more at http://simplymeasured.com.

About TrustRadius
TrustRadius is the leading site for business software users to share real-world insights through in-depth reviews and networking. We help users make better product selection, implementation and usage decisions. Every reviewer is authenticated and every review vetted before publication. Unlike simple rating sites, TrustRadius reviews are structured and substantive, averaging more than 400 words each. Reviewers can also update their reviews to keep them current. Founded by successful entrepreneurs and backed by the Mayfield Fund, TrustRadius is bringing transparency and efficiency to the $3.7 trillion business technology market. Learn more at www.trustradius.com.

Contact Information

Contact:
Ashley Ennis
PR Manager for Simply Measured
aennis@simplymeasured.com
(206) 300-9891