The majority of US web marketers are bullish on social media spending, according to a recent survey of over 50 businesses and organizations conducted by Prospero Technologies, a provider of social media applications for leading brands.
According to Prospero’s
2007 Social Media Survey, 59% of respondents reported that social media performance in 2007 met or exceeded their marketing objectives, boosting future spending expectations – with 31% planning to spend significantly more on social media applications in 2008.
Survey participants were from leading brand organizations from a wide variety of industries, including media, education, financial services, health, and sports and gaming.
Asked about social media return on investment (ROI), 35% reported positive ROI and 41% said that ROI was “unknown”. Responses to questions about how web marketers measure ROI reveal that direct sales revenue is not a top measure for determining social media success.
Respondents said that total number of site visitors (17%) was the most important criterion for assessing social media performance. Total number of page views and number of subscribes / community members (15%) were next, followed closely by length of visit on the site (14%).
Rusty Williams, co-founder and vice president of Prospero technologies, said: “The majority of respondents see engagement with their brand as the most important measure of social media success, while more concrete ROI measures such as sales and new business leads carry less weight.
“But other findings show that businesses are becoming more sophisticated in creating new revenue sources through social media, with 12% citing ad revenue and nine percent reporting sponsorships as important measures for success.”
Prospero’s 2007 Social Media Survey was conducted online in September 2007, gathering responses from over 50 businesses currently using social media applications, including organizations from the following industries: broadcast media, eCommerce and eCRM, education, financial services, health, manufacturing, online media, print media – magazines and books, print media – newspapers, professional associations, sports and gaming.
A recent report from Datamonitor forecast that global active memberships in social networking sites will reach 230 million at the end of 2007 (see Social Networking Site Memberships To Reach 230 Million).
Figures from Nielsen//NetRatings released at the end of September show that Facebook and MySpace are now both visited by one in five Britons online, receiving 6.5 million and 6.4 million unique users respectively in August (see Facebook And MySpace Visited By One In Five Online Britons).
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