Study shows consumers relying more on web-only news sources

News on Social Marketing, according to Brafton News, although most Americans are still using televisions, newspapers and radio as their first sources of information, consumers are now trusting and relying more on web-only news sources, according to a report from Triton Digital. Marketers have the opportunity to share industry updates to build thought leadership as 12.5 percent of consumers are turning more to web news content more than any other source.

The web also provides the best information for purchase decisions for 61.1 percent of consumers. For marketers, the value of high-quality web content becomes especially attractive as consumers are using more social media and other web channels as search engines for their research.

With the continuous growth of the use on the web, organizations can increase their social media marketing accounts and improve their standing in search by using news content marketing campaigns.

A trend of searching for news content among web users accessing the internet from any number of devices has been observed by Brafton. According to a study from Fleishman-Hillard, 89 percent of consumers are using search for their purchases information. Different channels have also been observed to play a significant role in the growth of the purchase process for both B2B buyers and consumers. The data shows that more news content is read by those who purchase tablets than they did before acquiring the device.

Read more at More consumers turn to web for news, purchase information

LinkedIn’s growth driven largely by the addition of Linkedln forum

News on Social Marketing, according to Brafton News, for some organizations, having a new platform to a social media marketing campaign is not easy. However, these companies may consider incorporating the Linkedln in their marketing mix as the professional network has reported that it has exceeded the 150 million-user mark.

The addition of LinkedIn forums, with features allowing businesses and professionals from all industries to communicate with other experts and solicit advice or discuss best practices, has become a factor in the company’s growth between October 2011 and December 2011. Having this feature to work with other businesses is a social media marketing approach that displays a company’s industry capability.

Comparing to the same three-month period in 2011, LinkedIn created 77 percent more income from its different marketing solutions in the quarter. According to the company, this growth is the result of the increased interest in social media marketing.

Because of the increased demand and the success it saw last year, CEO Jeff Weiner said that the company will expand its social media marketing offerings in 2012.

An organization can now select which group have access to the poll, so results from the questions and the feedback will be answered by audiences brands most want to reach, with the launch of LinkedIn polls feature.

Read more at LinkedIn expects growth to continue in 2012, now counts 150 million users

Marketers should keep social media, email marketing top priorities

News on Social Marketing, according to Brafton News, for marketers to succeed, email and social media marketing campaigns should be on the top of their priorities, Direct Marketing Association reported. eMarketers announced that in terms of importance, the average company ranked social first at 3.6 and email second at 3.4 on a scale of one to five.

An average of 3.2 was earned by other marketing channels like SEO, paid search marketing and mobile where businesses plan to put up its resources for the rest of 2012. A decrease on investments in social, email and search was observed from the fourth quarter of 2011, but the holiday season usually warrants bigger investment in the final three months of a year.

The Direct Marketing Association study also shows that more than retaining existing customers and clients, companies focuses more on attracting new prospects with 61.7 percent of their resources to be focused to new customers compared to 38.7 percent that will be directed on existing ones.

Eighty-six point three percent uses email marketing in acquisition plans with 67.4 percent focusing on social. SEO has 66.8 percent and 58.9 percent uses paid search as channels to reach new prospects.

Read more at Social media, email marketing top areas of expansion for many

Other Social Marketing Articles of Interest

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CONSTANT CONTACT SURVEY REVEALS THAT SMALL BUSINESSES NEED HELP EVALUATING SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING SUCCESS