2016 Sensis Social Media Report: Part Four
We look at how social media advertising is faring in the competitive world of marketing saturation.
Part 4: Consumers, business and social media as a whole
We’ve made it. iFactory’s fourth and final part of our ongoing blog series focusing on the 2016 Sensis Social Media Report and delving into just what its figures and projections mean.
In our previous three instalments, we have looked into what the annual report says about both consumer and business use of the plethora of social media channels on the web. In this article, we are merging the two together and investigating just how they are interacting within social media. We will also look at how social media advertising is faring in the competitive world of marketing saturation.
How has social media built brand trust?
Simply having a social media presence isn’t enough to build brand trust and loyalty, but the Sensis report has found that 52% of consumers are more likely to trust a brand if they use their social channels to interact positively with their customers. The same percentage advised that brand trust is built from regular and engaging content being posted by the business, while regular content updates are also proven ways to win over customers and build trust using social media.
It’s true. If you look on any regularly-updated business Facebook or Twitter page, you’ll see quick responses from brands to customers posting enquiries are overly well-received. Brands are becoming more aware that staying on top of public social media enquiries is not only a great way to keep existing customers happy, but also to prove to prospective customers that they are a business they can trust.
Advertising & social media
Many businesses choose to take out paid advertising via their most-used social platforms as a proven way to build their brand publicly. However, the 2016 Sensis Social Media Report paid advertising section has mixed results.
Large businesses are clearly taking out the most paid social ads, jumping from 46% to 61% in the previous year. Small businesses, however, have remained mostly stagnant, while medium businesses have actually declined in their use of paid ads, dropping from 32% to 27%.
Not surprisingly, Facebook is the platform of choice where businesses purchasing paid social ads wish to spend their hard-earned money, but the report states that lesser-used platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn are gaining in paid social popularity.
So there you have it. iFactory’s overview of the 2016 Sensis Social Media Report and our insights into just what projections can be gauged from this annual report.
Is your business utilising social media to its full potential? iFactory, based in beautiful Brisbane, is a full-service digital media agency who have the know-how to put your business firmly on the path to online success. Call us today for a chat about how we can help your business take off.
We hope you enjoyed our 2016 Sensis Social Media Report 4 part blog series, don’t forget to head back and read the whole series if you missed any. Jump on to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to share key insights and join in the discussion using #SensisSocial.
