Social media is an incredibly important tool for marketing. However, social media marketing (SMM) only works if you use the right strategies. Do it wrong, and you won’t attract customers but rather push them away. You have to be aware of current trends so that you can make sure your SMM is used effectively. Let’s take a look at some trends to be aware of, therefore.
Social Bookmarking Sites Are Dying
In 2011, 26% of people used social bookmarking sites. Two years later, at the last count, this had dropped to just 10%. Clearly, these types of sites are no longer interesting and shouldn’t be your area of focus anymore. There are a couple of notable exceptions to this rule, including Pinterest, Reddit, StumbleUpon and Twitter. However, other once major players like FriendFeed and DIGG are as close to death as possible. Hence, don’t think that using them as part of your marketing strategy will be in any way beneficial. Instead, you need to look at which sites are currently being used, by whom and why, and base your strategy on that.
Daily Deal Sites Are Down as Well
Daily deal sites were also incredibly popular for a long time. They offered businesses an opportunity to share a deal they may have with customers interested in their product. Today, however, at least 80% of marketers are moving away from these types of websites. Living Social and Groupon, who made a huge mark on the world in their day, are in massive decline. Instead, marketers now focus on long term results through their own social media marketing and social networks, instead of focusing on daily goals.
Where to Run a Social Media Campaign?
So where should you go for your marketing? The reality is that the world of social media changes almost daily, as does the world of the internet as a whole. The one ultimate, remaining, truth, however, is that social media itself is alive and kicking. This means that it should be a huge element of your overall marketing efforts. If you want to attract new customers, and retain the loyalty of your existing customers, social media is the way forward.
There are a number of statistics available:
- The mostly used sites for social media marketing are Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook.
- LinkedIn is more popular as a business networking site than a method to find and attract new clients.
- Forum marketing is down massively, dropping from 24% in 2011 to just 16% in 2013 at the last count.
- Twitter is still interesting, with some 67% of marketers using it, but it is dropping. This is also due to the turmoil this network continues to go through.
- Instagram is particularly popular with marketers trying to reach a younger audience, as they use this medium to connect.
- Blogging continues to be a very popular medium for social media marketing.
The most popular website for reaching out to customers is Facebook.
