‘Lack of understanding’ hampers social network campaigns

The survey, conducted by Sapient Interactive, quizzed the views of UK marketeers and directors.

Sapient Interactive argues that such barriers need to be overcome because one in every 11 minutes spent online is now on social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn (Neilsen Online, 2009). 

The survey revealed that the other barriers to investment in social networking behind “lack of understanding” were “no clear measurement/ROI” (19%), the fact that social networking is still in an experimentation phase so is “not proven yet” (17%) and markerters “don’t know where to start (there’s too much out there)” (14%).

But these barriers are surprising considering that 50% of the respondents feel that 2009 will be the year of social networking for marketers. 

It is encouraging that in the past six months, 54% of respondents to Sapient Interactive’s survey had run a social networking campaign.

However, of these campaigns, 63% were as part of a wider marketing campaign rather than a standalone campaign, which highlights the cautious approach that UK marketers are taking to social networking. 

The ratio of social networking in campaigns will become more significant in the next six months as respondents look to increase its use as part of their integrated marketing campaigns.

Nigel Vaz, vice president and head of Sapient Interactive Europe, said: “Social networks should be a marketer’s dream!  The time spent on social networking sites is increasing, and the audience has broadened and matured, therefore providing the ideal platform for carefully targeted, creative and personalised marketing campaigns.

“However, there is still a lot of confusion about how marketers embrace social networking either as campaigns on their own or as part of wider marketing campaigns.  We believe it is about creating the social experiences that personify your brand.  Segmentation and content are key because if doesn’t resonate, it fails,  Vaz added.

Other useful statistics from Sapient Interactive’s social networking survey include:

·         Only 9% of respondents think that “social networking is overrated”.

·         Outside of social networking campaigns, the most leveraged social media by marketers is media sharing sites like YouTube and Flickr (62%), followed closely by micro-blogs such as Twitter (59.8%) and corporate/campaign blogs (59%). 

www.sapient.com