VANCOUVER, BC — Hootsuite, the leader in social media management trusted by more than 16 million customers and employees at more than 80% of the Fortune 1000, today released its Social Media Barometer Report, a global survey on the importance and use of social media within small, medium and enterprise organisations across industries.
Examining data from more than 9,000 responses across 19 countries, the annual report found social media to be a critical platform for global businesses to maintain competitive advantage, with social media expected to continue to grow in importance for their businesses and customers, particularly as social media’s use grows beyond marketing to drive value across the organisation.
“Our social media barometer report confirms what we’ve been hearing from customers large and small; that social media has become a critical channel for delivering a consistent customer experience across a business,” said Penny Wilson, CMO, Hootsuite. “With social increasingly how customers consume media; conduct research, ask questions and seek recommendations; make purchase decisions, engage with brands for support and show our loyalty, this is not a surprise. More organisations are discovering the value of social media within and beyond marketing, and the resulting direct impact it has on their bottom line.”
APAC research findings include:
- 90% agree that social media is important to staying competitive
- 74% of respondents agree that social media will increasingly contribute to their company’s bottom line, with 62% of organisations noting social has moved outside the marketing team
- 92% of organisations are using social to build brand awareness; 78% to manage their brand reputation; 78% for building and managing an engaged community; 66% to increase lead conversions and sales; 56% to gain market and customer insights; 49% for delivering customer service; 33% to attract job applicants; and 25% to identify crisis and manage communications
- 54% of executives struggle to understand and interpret social data, and 52% struggle to stay on top of key social media trends
While historically, the United States has led the charge in social media adoption, it has become apparent that regions like Asia Pacific are quickly gaining ground.
The Social Media Barometer Report was distributed to more than a million social media customers worldwide, sourced from Hootsuite’s database. Respondents must have been responsible for or have oversight into social media strategy and/or execution for their organisation. Conducted between February and May of 2018, the report summarises responses from 9,278 individuals on their organisation’s use of social media. The full global report can be found here and the APAC report here.
To help CMOs, executives and social leaders with the challenges they face today and in the future, Hootsuite will be hosting its Future of Social events in Toronto, San Francisco, New York, Mexico City, London, Sydney, and Singapore in October and November 2018. The events will be live streamed and then available for replay in early 2019. Details are available here.
Hootsuite has a long history of helping its customers grow their expertise to succeed with social via tools like Hootsuite Academy, an online resource to train and equip practitioners with certified social media skills; Hootsuite Impact, an easy-to-use interface to give organisations a complete view of the ROI for their owned, earned, and paid social initiatives in one dashboard; and Hootsuite Enterprise, a scalable solution to enable your entire organisation on social.
