Social outcomes are handed on to different departments

During the pandemic, even the least prepared companies were “forced” to rely more on social media as the central channel for marketing, sales, customer service and more.

As a matter of fact, Hootsuite‘s Social Trends 2022 report states that 83% of marketers surveyed have some level of confidence in quantifying the return on investment (ROI) of their social endeavors, up from 68% last year.

Among those who felt the most secure, 55% said their social ad strategy was fully integrated with other marketing activities, while 48% used social media to learn more about what their customers want and need in order for them to can deliver exactly that.

The fact is: The impact of social media on marketing has made companies realize the benefits they can have for the rest of the business as well– and companies that use the value of social media to help other departments have a better chance of differentiating themselves.

Because of this, in 2022, it might be a good idea for your brand to focus on developing a social media strategy that not only takes into account your other marketing efforts, but also has implications for other areas of the business.

But how can you do that?

Answers straight from the source: an interview with Hootsuite’s senior copywriter

Today we bring the third article of Rock content‘s series in collaboration with Hootsuite (If you missed the first two articles, check out here and here). That’s why we spoke to Konstantin Prodanovic, lead author of Hootsuite’s 2022 Social Media Trends report. Check out the interview below.

“The biggest lesson for marketers is not to treat paid and organic products as separate silos of your social marketing strategy.”

Rock content: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many companies having to resort to social media to stay afloat. Do you think the pandemic had some impact on companies being able to better quantify the ROI of their social efforts?

Konstantin Prodanovic: Absolutely. Many business leaders have been placed in a position where they have had to use social media for a lot of things that they are not used to. It became your central marketing, sales, and customer service tool rolled into one. And I absolutely think it affected their perception of the business value of social media.

RC: A lot has happened in social networks this year. New networks like TikTok are growing rapidly. Some marketers whisper that Facebook is dead. What do you think these changes and rumors mean for social media marketers?

KP: That’s a big question (laughs). The short answer: yes. The long answer: I think TikTok’s dominance has absolutely had an impact on social marketing strategies – especially when it comes to targeting and customer segmentation.

TikTok has broken the prejudice that the real usefulness of social is to use it as a mass marketing tool. I think we are seeing marketers realizing that it is becoming increasingly important to use social networks as a tool for building communities and engaging with them smaller, more niche interest groups that thrive on networks like TikTok.

But I wouldn’t dismiss Facebook anytime soon. It’s still the largest social network in the world. 2.7 billion people are on the platform (TikTok recently hit 1 billion for comparison). There is still a lot to be gained from good strategic marketing on Facebook.

RC: In the Hootsuite Social Trends survey, 65% of those who said they were “very confident” about measuring the ROI of social media also had their paid and organic strategies fully integrated, confirming that social is strongest when the two work together . Can we apply this thought to strategies like collaborative content creation with creators and social commerce strategies?

KP: This question has a lot going for it to keep my answer concise (laughs).

I think the biggest lesson for marketers is to avoid treating paid and organic products as separate silos of your social marketing strategy. Your paid advertising strategy should reinforce your organic content, and vice versa. When it comes to co-creation and social commerce, the same lesson applies. Keep your messages consistent so that your customers have a consistent experience with your brand.

RC: How can marketing KPIs (and KPIs from other departments) be improved by social metrics? What can we learn from applying this data across the company?

KP: Great question. I think the most important thing here is that business leaders should view social media as more than a marketing tool.

For over a decade, marketers have focused on using social media to build brand awareness (a core pillar, if not the main pillar of marketing). We see, however, that the social is becoming increasingly important in the areas of customer service, sales and recruiting.

RC: And how can marketing directors demonstrate social worth in the rest of their organization?

KP: I think marketing directors have a role to play in clearing up misunderstandings from their peers about the value of social media.

This also includes moving away from focusing on engagement metrics and reach and focusing more on social media as a tool for collecting data and insights: What are potential customers talking about online? What types of service requests do you see most often? How are competitors positioning themselves?

The moment marketing directors start helping their colleagues answer these questions, people will see the value of social media in other departments.

RC: How can B2B social media management companies like Hootsuite help accelerate the growth of other businesses?

KP: In less than a decade, social media has fundamentally changed the way we live, work and communicate. It’s the first place people turn to discover, learn, and buy – and it’s an essential platform to build your brand, gain deep strategic insights, and get closer to your customers.

From smart social listening and engagement to AI-powered social commerce and social customer care, Hootsuite has the scalable platform, deep expertise, strong industry partnerships, and bold vision to help your company serve your customers at every stage of their journey – today and tomorrow.

RC: This is the first time Hootsuite has presented the results of its annual trend survey as interactive content. Why did you choose this path?

KP: Insight is power. We have done our best to narrow our survey data down to five key trends with actionable insights for business leaders. But social media is so big and growing so fast that it’s difficult to cover everything – even in a report like ours.

Our survey data contains a lot of valuable insights for anyone who uses social media as a business tool. Whether you’re a media planner, brand strategist, social marketer, small business owner, or CMO, our complete survey dataset will help Make informed decisions and be successful.

RC: What other insights can you highlight from the Hootsuite trending survey?

KP: I think we did a good job getting the most important data out of the survey. But I would encourage people to check out ours B.land, where we deepened conversations with experts from creative agencies, consulting firms, and networks like Twitter and YouTube to support the report. Or visit our Twitter Account where we often speak directly to social media managers and marketers around the world about our trends.

What’s next?

If your goal is to have a stronger and bolder brand in 2022, I suggest looking at social platforms with a different eye – be it making your content more creative and engaging with your audience, or better Aim for conversion rates and measure the ROI of your social efforts (and push that across the business).

Would you like to learn more about the future of social media? Read Hootsuite’s Social Trends Report 2022 and stay tuned for more special articles here Rock content‘s blog.

Our next week will continue Rock content and Hootsuite In our blog series, we discuss how brands can attract new buyers and retain loyal customers through strong social commerce strategies. See you there!

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