Social study: Facebook meh, YouTube GR8!

Chris Gonsalves finds that businesses really are benefiting from using YouTube and other social media

It's not all relationship statuses and brunch pics out there, people.

New research shows B2B marketers getting on board with an array of social media efforts, mostly targeted at lead generation and lead nurturing. All the major channels are getting some attention as businesses try to find their voice in the social environment -- but the future, as at the end of the 19th century, appears to be in moving pictures.

The 2013 Social Media Marketing Industry Report published by Social Media Examiner queried some 3,000 marketers on how they use social media to grow and promote their businesses.

Unsurprisingly, the study found that marketing professionals place high value on social media, with 86 per cent saying social media is important for their business, up from 83 per cent last year.

About 80 per cent of SMBs now said they've full incorporated social media into their traditional marketing activities.

The reason for this enthusiasm? It works.

Eighty-nine per cent said the top benefit for their social networking efforts was increased exposure; 75 per cent said it increased traffic to their websites.

And while it takes some time to turn that higher profile into real revenues, more than half of those surveyed who have been using social media for at least three years said social media has helped them improve sales.

As a side benefit, nearly half of those who spend at least six or more hours a week working the social media scene realised an overall reduction in marketing expenses.

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn were the dominant social platforms used -- by 92 per cent, 80 per cent and 70 per cent of businesses, respectively, according to the research.

That said, the marketers surveyed appeared unsure about Facebook's value in the business world. Only one in three believes their Facebook efforts are effective.

So where are they headed? YouTube takes top honours for future investment, with 69 per cent of those surveyed saying they plan to increase their use of the video-sharing platform.

And if you thought Old Time Radio Hour was a dying art, consider that a quarter of marketers said they'll increase podcasting activities this year.

"What are the top questions that social media marketers want answered? It turns out the number one question is what social tactics are the most effective," said Social Media Examiner founder Michael Stelzner. "Ninety per cent of marketers want to get the answer to that particular question."

The survey results support the work of vendors like Dell that have been working diligently to get partners trained up on social media in an effort to improve the channel's overall marketing posture.

Dell has been training partners on the finer points of social marketing for about a year, and last week took that instruction to the next level with a revamped channel partner training programme, Social Media 2.0, designed to give participants more practical, functional strategies for putting social media to work in their day-to-day marketing efforts.

"Areas where we were high level we're now taking it to the next level," Kathy Schneider (pictured, right), Dell's executive director of global channel marketing and programmes, told Channelnomics.
"We've had indications [over the past year] that partners were getting more savvy with social efforts. This is about delivering the help that's needed to make partners better at what they do."

The programme uses Dell's own robust and successful social media experience. "The best way to approach this is to show [partners] by example that this is something that's going to add value," said Schneider. "They're hearing what it can do for them, and seeing how it's helping others."

As part of our special editorial partnership, CRN is republishing this article from Channelnomics