5 social marketing myths busted
DESCRIPTION
We’re busting 5 major social marketing myths that have made their way into mainstream marketing lore, and revealing proven facts and strategies to help guide your social efforts and execution.TRANSCRIPT
5 Major Social Marketing Myths – Busted!
Brought to you by
GIGYA.COM | 2
SOCIAL MEDIA MYTHOLOGY
Nearly $5 billion was spent on social marketing tactics in
2013 (Forrester), and marketers plan to increase social
media budgets at a higher rate than any other channel in
2014 (MediaPost). But despite its popularity, social still
remains the “new kid” on the marketing block, with
networks like Pinterest and Instagram just barely cutting
teeth compared to mature, well-oiled channels like email
and print.
As marketers the world over share conflicting stories of
social triumph and trial in the pages of leading industry
pubs, rumors run rampant across this largely uncharted
marketing territory. We’re busting 5 major social marketing
myths that have made their way into mainstream
marketing lore, and revealing proven facts and strategies to
help guide your social efforts and execution.
1. Social ROI Doesn’t Exist
2. Social Needs Its Own Set of Metrics
3. Social Marketing Is an “On-Network”
Affair
4. Social Is Competing with Other
Channels
5. Social is “Big Brother” for Marketers
5 MAJOR MYTHS:
Social ROI Doesn’t Exist
MYTH #1
GIGYA.COM | 4
MYTH #1: SOCIAL ROI DOESN’T EXISTReturn on social marketing investment is undeniably one of the most hotly debated business topics of the 21st
century. But while 88% of marketers claim to have an unclear view of social ROI (Webmarketing123), this doesn’t
make it non existent - it simply means that many marketers don’t know how to measure it. That said, this
misconception is largely perpetuated by our next myth.
Only 12% of marketers claim to have a clear view of social ROI! (Webmarketing123)
Social Needs Its Own Set of Metrics
MYTH #2
GIGYA.COM | 6
MYTH #2: SOCIAL NEEDS ITS OWN SET OF METRICS
While social marketing has forever changed the way
brands connect with consumers, it has not changed
the underlying metrics driving performance for most
businesses - which is where many marketers seem to
lose their grip on social ROI. Just as email opens or ad
clicks alone don’t provide much business value,
engagement, followers, and other social-friendly
metrics are only as valuable as the consumer actions
and insights they facilitate.
GIGYA.COM |
Do visitors who share content spend more time on site?
Are customers who leave reviews more likely to make repeat purchases?
Do the insights derived from users’ social profiles improve user experiences and, in turn, shopping cart conversions?
To calculate and optimize ROI, social must be evaluated according to its impact on traditional marketing metrics
and KPIs. This can be done by tying consumers’ social actions directly to purchase behaviors.
MYTH #2: BUSTED!
7
Social Marketing Is an “On-network” Affair
MYTH #3
GIGYA.COM | 9
MYTH #3: SOCIAL MARKETING IS AN “ON-NETWORK” AFFAIRWhen browsing marketing blogs and bylines, it’s always surprising to find that the majority of social resources still
focus on implementing on-network strategies like scheduling posts, monitoring comments and leveraging
hashtags. Contrary to seemingly popular belief, social marketing does not exist in a vacuum, and social efforts
should not be confined to your Facebook timeline or Twitter feed.
GIGYA.COM | 10
MYTH #3: BUSTED!
!!Marketers must refocus to reach and engage users on their own properties, where they can more effectively
collect valuable consumer insights and drive desired behaviors via solutions like social login, share, ratings and
reviews, gamification and more.
The reality is that brand visibility on social networks is shrinking, with brands’ updates being pushed increasingly
faster and further down followers’ social feeds.
CASE IN POINT
Recent changes by Facebook to make room for paid placements have stunted
organic brand page reach from 16% of fans to about 3%.
(Ignite Social Media)
Social is Competing with Other Channels
MYTH #4
GIGYA.COM | 12
MYTH #4: SOCIAL IS COMPETING WITH OTHER CHANNELS
How often do you come across statistics comparing the effectiveness of social vs email marketing? Or
foreboding predictions that social will soon eclipse search? These types of reports fuel the misconception that
social media is out for every channel’s lunch.
Rather than viewing social as an alternate marketing strategy and pitting it against more traditional mediums,
businesses must realize that social marketing is most effective when it is used to complement these other
channels.
GIGYA.COM | 13
MYTH #4: BUSTED!
Need proof? 19% of Gigya clients have seen a 30-50%
increase in referral traffic by adding social sharing buttons
to their web properties, and sites that feature ratings and
reviews typically experience a 10-20% increase in search
result CTR thanks to user-generated content (Inchoo).
The insights gleaned from users’ social graphs, including
their locations, relationships, interests and media
preferences can also be used to inform campaigns and
improve performance across channels. Personalizing
emails improves CTR by 14% and conversion rates by 10%
(HubSpot).
Social is “Big Brother” for Marketers
MYTH #5
GIGYA.COM | 15
MYTH #5: SOCIAL IS “BIG BROTHER” FOR MARKETERSWhen was the last time a website requested permission to cookie you, or your browser asked if you wanted to
share your search history with a third party?
While many people believe that the crux of social marketing rests on brands' abilities to collect heaps of personal
data from unsuspecting users, the reality is that social networks actually have far more strict and transparent
privacy policies and controls than most sites and data brokers.
GIGYA.COM | 16
MYTH #5: BUSTED!
Not only do social users have direct access to
personal privacy settings, but major networks are
making increased efforts to build privacy
awareness. For instance, Facebook has recently
been testing a pop-up featuring a friendly blue
dinosaur that reminds users to check their privacy
settings (The Drum).
One popular way for brands to gain permission-
based access to users’ social graphs is via Social
Login. By allowing users to login to sites and apps
using one of their existing social media accounts,
brands can request access to specific, valuable
social data points, giving users total control over the
information they share.
There you have it: 5 of today’s most prevalent social media marketing myths, busted. We’ve armed
your business with the truth and tips behind social ROI, cross-channel integration and privacy - time to get
started measuring, optimizing and making the most of that growing social marketing budget!
ABOUT GIGYAGigya's Customer Identity Management Platform helps companies build better customer relationships by turning unknown visitors into known, loyal and engaged customers. With Gigya’s technology, businesses increase registrations and identify customers across devices, consolidate data into rich customer profiles, and provide better service, products and experiences by integrating data into marketing and service applications.
Gigya's platform was designed from the ground up for social identities, mobile devices, consumer privacy and modern marketing. Gigya provides developers with the APIs they need to easily build and maintain secure and scalable registration, authentication, profile management, data analytics and third-party integrations.
More than 700 of the world’s leading businesses such as Fox, Forbes, and Verizon rely on Gigya to build identity-driven relationships and to provide scalable, secure Customer Identity Management.
!For more information about Gigya's Customer Identity Management Platform, visit www.gigya.com.
Gigya, the Gigya logo, and Customer Identity Management Platform are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Gigya Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
© 2014 Gigya, Inc. All rights reserved.