Where Are Marketers Going To Increase Their Efforts? [study]

For the third consecutive year, YouTube is the channel where most marketers plan on increasing their social media efforts, according to survey results from Social Media Examiner’s latest annual “Social Media Marketing Report”. This year, 69% plan to increase their YouTube marketing efforts in the near future, while another 17% plan to maintain current levels, and just 13% don’t have any plans to utilize the platform. Last year, 76% planned to increase their YouTube efforts, against 33% who didn’t plan any such marketing activities, while the year before, 77% planned to increase their efforts versus 10% who had no YouTube marketing plans. But YouTube adoption has remained flat: it stood at 56% in 2011, 57% in 2012, and is once again at 56% this year.

Nevertheless, YouTube is one of the top 5 platforms in use this year, ahead of Google+ (42%) and Pinterest (41%), but remaining behind the ubiquitous Facebook (92%), as well as Twitter (80%), LinkedIn (70%), and blogging (70%).

After YouTube (and keeping in mind that expected activity doesn’t necessarily translate to real behavior), a significant proportion of marketers plan to increase their Facebook (66%), blogging (66%), LinkedIn (65%) and Twitter (64%) activities. Blogging and LinkedIn are particularly in favor among B2B respondents, with 71% and 78%, respectively, planning to increase their activities on these platforms.

Interestingly, the report notes that while only 5% of marketers are currently using podcasting, 24% plan to increase their efforts in this area this year.

The study also reveals some other interesting tidbits about which platforms are – and are not – in vogue among marketers:

• Use of social bookmarking sites has plummeted from 26% of respondents in 2011 to just 10% this year;
• Forums (24% in 2011; 16% this year) and geo-location services such as Foursquare (17% in 2011; 11% this year) are also in decline;
• Respondents with more than 5 years of experience are far more likely to use LinkedIn than the average respondent (92% vs. 70%);
• Marketers spending more than 40 hours a week on social media are more heavily focused on Pinterest, Google+, Instagram, and YouTube than those spending less than 6 hours a week on social media marketing;
• B2C marketers have adopted Facebook at a greater rate than B2B marketers, while the opposite is true when it comes to LinkedIn;
• Although Facebook is the most important social platform to a strong majority (67%) of B2C marketers, Facebook and LinkedIn are tied among B2B marketers, at 29% each;
• 67% of marketers plan to increase their Twitter activities, but that’s down from 69% last year and 73% in 2011;
• Younger marketers are much more likely to use photo sharing sites such as Instagram than their older counterparts; and
• 80% of marketers have no plans to daily deal sites, such as Groupon or LivingSocial, in the near future.

About the Data: The data is based on responses from 3,025 participants. 56% primarily target consumers and 44% businesses. 72% of respondents are aged 30-59, and females represented 62% of the survey sample. 57% are based in the US, with the UK (9%) the next-most heavily represented country.-MarketingCharts

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