If you’re thinking about including social media into your marketing plan, here are some great trend reports and statistics to put that thought into action. Finding the time and dollars to allocate to social media marketing is on the tip of every marketing executives tongue. One reason is that social media is trending and is not just a trend. The digital age is evolving and we are finding that we can reach out and touch someone through being a friend on Facebook, linking to them on LinkedIn or posting a blog for them read at their convenience. Through these social media networks, businesses have found a new way to communicate with their target markets to grow their business. Check out how social media is currently trending and the stats that back it up.

Social Media Marketing Is On The Rise

“The State of Small Business Report”, by Network Solutions, LLC and the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, showed that the downed economy has contributed to the popularity of social media networks.  The study reported that:

• Small businesses increased their use of social media from 12% to 24% in the last year.
• An estimated 1 out of 5 small businesses are involved in using social media as a part of their marketing strategy.

How Businesses Use Social Media

Small businesses reported the following:

• 75% have a company page listed on a social networking site.
• 69% post updates or articles on social media sites .
• 57% build out a professional  network through a site like LinkedIn.
• 54% closely observe the feedback they receive about their business.
• 39% have set up and maintain a blog.
• 26% tweet about their area of expertise.
• 16% use Twitter as a service channel.

Social Media  Expectations

The report showed  businesses who have worked with social media as part of their marketing plan had mixed reviews on how it met their expectations.

• 58% felt that social media had met their expectations.
• 25% felt that social media had fallen short of what they had hoped for.
• 12% reported that social media network sites had exceeded their expectations.

For businesses that reported social media had fallen short of their expectations:

• 50% said that social media had used more time than they had expected.
• 19% thought social media had lost them money.
• 17% felt that social media networks allowed people/customers to criticize their business.

Messages Sent Through Social Media

eMarketer showed that social media marketing does not choke innovation out of existence. Instead some of the most successful small businesses are able to compete by offering superior services. The small business model has embraced social media as a means to keep themselves tied to their customers. Businesses felt that they could engage their audiences through social media. They also reported to use social media to tap into knowledgeable resources.  

How Social Media Budgets Will Rise

Over the last several months marketing professionals have been found to be leaning towards the importance of creating a budget for social media marketing. Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the American Marketing Association, “The CMO Survey” reported that social media marketing budgets are on the rise. The report showed that businesses currently budget 6% of their marketing dollars to social media. They expect this amount to increase 10% in the next year and 18% over the course of the next 5 years.

In August 2009 marketing professionals had also been found to have planned to incorporate a higher budget dedicated to social media marketing efforts. In February 2010, those marketers had reported that they would be budgeting one-fifth of their dollars to social media marketing over the next 5 years.  Current social media marketing budget trends are:

• August 2009: 3.5% budget allowance was spent on social media marketing.
• February 2010: Social media marketing budgets had risen to 5.6% .

Social Media The Big Buzz

According to the Marketing Executives Networking Group and Anderson Analytics, their report entitled “Marketing Trends 2010″ found that mastering social media was high on the priority list for marketing professionals. The number one  buzzword to keep on the tip of the tongue in 2010 was Marketing ROI —rate of return on marketing efforts.

• 58% of marketing executives thought social media was a trend to keep an eye on.
• 42% of marketing professionals chose social media as a top trend to watch which made social media marketing hit the list of the top 10 productive marketing initiatives.
• 72% of professionals in marketing reported that they work with companies that have planned a social media marketing program for 2010.  

Social Media – Who Is Using It & How

The study by Anderson Analytics also showed the differences on how social media marketing was being used. Individuals and professionals were found to use social media networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Companies were found to utilize the blog as their main social media tool.

The Anderson Analytics study also reported that social media marketing plans were handed to internal employees, social media consultants and interactive agencies. Marketing professionals that were in charge of carrying out social media initiatives were not found to be looking to PR or ad agencies to head their social media campaigns.

So if your business is working to plan a social media marketing program, feel confident that you are not diving into a trend that will disappear any time soon. Many studies have been performed to analyze the worth of social media marketing and have found that businesses all over are planning to incorporate social media into their marketing budgets. Reaching out to your customers, target marketed and creating an open line of communication through social media is here to stay.

The foundation of successful companies has always been to become a reliable source for their customers.  Long standing businesses look to become a resource in which customers can count on and communicate with. Social media networking allows a business the open line they need to communicate the message that their customers need to hear—you can count on us and you can rely on us. A message that can now be broadcast through social media networks 24 hours a day, 365 days a year— which is more than a stamped postcard can offer.

The world of traditional marketing is ever-changing and as it leans into the digital online world, we encourage you to dig your business heels in and enjoy planning your social media efforts!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

The ad world attracts some interesting people, and no wonder. The level of creativity required to come up with a unique idea that stands out in a sea of unique ideas is sky high. While you may be familiar with some of the big names in the history of the biz, like guru David Ogilvy, or founder of modern advertising David Lasker, some of the famous names that have worked in advertising may surprise you.

Herschell Gordon Lewis, for example. While he may not be a household name, he’s well-known to horror movie fans and cult film buffs as the father of “the splatter film.” Also known as the “Godfather of Gore,” Lewis started producing and directing low-budget films in the ’60s, such as Two Thousand Maniacs. Lewis recouped his minimal investments in spades, cashing in on the movies’ drive-in popularity and the burgeoning interest in horror movies.

Lewis was a master of marketing, and no wonder. He started out as an adman, working for an agency and teaching graduate courses in advertising at night. He then moved on to directing commercials for Alexander and Associates before he turned to film directing. Despite his notoriety as a filmmaker, Lewis still cranks out the books on marketing and also teaches seminars. He has a new film planned for 2009.

Comedian and TV star Bob Newhart also started in advertising, working as a copywriter for independent film and TV producer Fred Niles in Chicago in 1959. Newhart and one of his co-workers entertained each other with humorous phone calls, which became the basis of his audition tapes and helped develop the schtick that would later make him famous.

Other funny men have also worked in advertising, such as Stan Freberg, who voiced a multitude of Warner Bros. characters, and Don Novello, who worked in Chicago as a copywriter for Leo Burnett before donning priestly garments as Saturday Night Live’s Father Guido Sarducci. Terry Gilliam, the filmmaker and Monty Python cast member responsible for the comedy troupe’s bizarre animations, worked at an advertising agency when he was fresh out of college.

Actors who have worked in advertising before becoming famous names include Sir Alec Guinness, who wrote copy before making his stage debut, and Rick Moranis of Ghostbusters and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids fame. Pretty in Pink director John Hughes also started as an ad man.

It’s not just funny guys and filmmakers who worked in the advertising world. Some of the greatest literary writers have also written ad copy, most notably F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby (and the man who coined the term “The Jazz Age.) Mystery writers Dorothy L. Sayers and Dashiell Hammet (The Thin Man) also worked in the ad biz, Ms. Sayers using it as the subject of one of her acclaimed ’30s novels, Murder Must Advertise.

If you find it surprising that advertising attracts so many brilliant minds, Oozil doesn’t. That’s why the site was created: to bring together today’s best creative workers. Whether you seek the next great literary mind, a forward-thinking filmmaker, or a comic genius who can turn out witty phrases, Oozil is the meeting place.

Find the next big thing at Oozil –even before it’s the next big thing.

By Elizabeth Kelly