Ad spend on social media is reportedly rising across industries, and marketers should ask themselves if they’re up to the task of boosting social campaigns. At the recent Association of National Advertisers’ Social Media Conference, speakers emphasized the need for marketers to get ready to maximize social media opportunities in light of an anticipated 11 percent growth rate in digital media spend this year, reports Media Post.
Geoff Ramsey, co-founder of research firm eMarketer and speaker at the conference, posed the question of how many marketers felt they had “a handle” on social media. MediaPost says not a single hand went up.
This should be a red flag to members of the industry. ForeSee recently reported HitWise data indicating Facebook accounts for 9 percent of all web visits. The social site outranked Google as just 7.4 percent of internet visits are associated with the search engine. Social sites are also proven to be tools heavily relied on by businesses that distinguish themselves as thought leaders, reports a survey from the Bloom Group.
It’s clear that social sites are key to catching consumers’ interests and boosting brand. Ramsey encouraged conference attendees to focus on their social media efforts in the coming months, relays MediaPost. He encouraged marketers to create incentives for fans to become brand advocates and to let consumer chatter inform marketing decisions on social sites as well as other platforms.
There are also plenty of potential job opportunities for marketers who can demonstrate proficiency in these platforms. Manufacturing firms, medical professionals and even government branches are reportedly boosting their efforts in social media outreach this year, and they will likely be in need of experts’ guidance.
