A recent study by the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization recently found that search marketing spend will increase 16% this year. This isn't that surprising- it's clear that most people start their purchasing decisions online, and studies show that organic search engine ranking (like what you get with an Online Community) is viewed as much more credible than a pay-per-click ad.
But two interesting trends also arose from this study. For one, 84% of companies use Facebook to promote themselves, 75% use Twitter, and only 52% using LinkedIn according to the survey. This surprises me: For one, it’s clear that even though social media is a hot-trend for most companies, research shows that many aren’t confident they are “doing it right” nor do they have firm measurement in place to track their efforts. Secondly, it seems like LinkedIn should be where most of the investment is made, as it’s “the place” to be doing business (most of my comments and articles get way more responses and interactions on LinkedIn than on my Facebook or Twitter account).
Another trend that arose was that many companies are starting to outsource their social media efforts, in an upward trend from last year. Now this actually doesn’t surprise me. Recent reports have been showing this angst in companies over how to engage in social media appropriately, so “leaving it to the experts” seems like a logical solution. With search marketing spend on the rise, and an increase in spend in social media, it makes sense that Online Communities often appear as the solution that achieves both these goals in the most cost-effective way. Companies who do Online Communities well often integrate their social media sites into one “portal” using tools that share any content that’s created across all 3 sites seamlessly. With this streamlined process for providing links to your content, your search marketing initiatives can be met as well.
Just some thoughts- though. What do you think about these trends? Do they sound familiar with what you’re experiencing at your company?
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