I can remember attending a B2B magazine CMO Awards luncheon late in 2012 when the moderator asked the panel of 15 CMOs for their 2013 business outlook and top marketing priorities. Almost every CMO listed their top 2013 marketing priority as investing in Social Media, however, none of them knew what this would look like for their companies. So in effect, this was a “leap of faith” CMOs knew they had to take to catch up with consumers who were connecting through social media channels including Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube to share their brand likes, dislikes, and reviews.
Fast forward to yearend 2013 and Chief Marketer magazine (www.ChiefMarketer.com) announces “Social Marketing has gone mainstream.” According to Chief Marketer’s 2013 Annual Social Media Survey, 77% of marketers are integrating Social Media into their annual marketing strategies, plans and campaigns. In addition to coupons and discounts, marketers are offering unique content as a reward for engaging with the brand socially, and over half of marketers are including Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest links in all marketing messages.
B2B marketers are embracing Social Media to enhance brand awareness and grow their businesses. Robert (“Rob”) Harles, Global Head of Social Media at Bloomberg LP, is one of our picks at “best in class” Social Media/Social Business leaders. Rob has totally transformed Bloomberg’s Social Media policies and practices over the past 3-4 years, and now their partnership with LinkedIn is being used by Bloomberg’s sales force as a top lead generation tool. Check out the recent article on Harles and Bloomberg…the transformation success has been phenomenal – Social Media Today.
On the B2C side, Brion Roberto – Global Head Digital Marketing & Social Media at Diageo is a marketer we nominated in 2013 for Marketing EDGE’s “Rising Star” award recognition. Brion is one of the best and brightest marketers under 40YO and Diageo has utilized Social Media and other digital marketing strategies to engage consumers in building brand awareness, purchase/preference, and loyalty.
Another marketer we would like to recognize is John Bell who recently joined Travelers as VP, Enterprise Digital Marketing. John is former Managing Director – Social@Ogilvy which he built into the largest Social Business/Social Media practice in the agency sector with annual revenue exceeding $100M+. John was a former Creative Director at Ogilvy Public Relations and he was one of the early pioneers in Social Media well ahead of the rest of the marketing sector.
While 75%+ of marketers are moving aggressively into Social Media/Social Business, less than 25% have a Social Media specialist on staff. This means marketers are relying on agencies (like Social@Ogilvy) and consulting firms (like Accenture Interactive) to develop and manage Social Media technology software and campaign management platforms. Clearly, increased hiring and technology investments to support Social Media growth are priority areas for marketers in 2014.
By Jeff Gundersen
Twitter (@Jeff Gundersen)