New Chart: Are Clients and Agencies Integrating Social Media into the Marketing Mix?

Does your organization (or client) integrate social media with other communications tactics?


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This chart shows the response we received from 1886 agencies and client-side marketers when asked if they integrate social media with other communications tactics.

We found that, while agencies and their clients are aligned on the integration of social media with other online tactics, marketing and PR professionals who work at an agency or consultancy are far more likely than those who work at a client-side company to integrate social media with both online and offline tactics – 38% to 22%, respectively.

It’s no surprise that nearly half of all marketers combine social media with other online tactics because integration is often accomplished simply by adding a link. Integration can initiate the movement of a vast community of prospects through the pipeline from initial social-media engagement to lead capture and qualification to sales conversion.

Tracking these prospects through each stage of the buying cycle and reporting on performance metrics may also be automated, making social media integration very appealing to agencies and client-side marketers that are being required to be more accountable for marketing programs than ever before.

Client-side marketers are more than twice as likely not to integrate social media into the marketing mix. This may be directly related to the most common barrier to social media adoption mentioned by client-side companies – the “lack of knowledgeable staff”.

The percentage of marketers who do not integrate social media (20%) is likely to decrease further as they become more proficient in online tactics, and the ease of social media integration becomes more apparent.

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2009 Social Media & PR Benchmark Guide
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Sergio Balegno is a Senior Analyst with the MarketingSherpa Research Group. His research focuses on the topics of Social Media Marketing and PR, Email Marketing, and Business Technology Marketing for MarketingSherpa Benchmark Guides and Special Reports. Sergio presents his research, analysis and opinions as a frequent speaker at MarketingSherpa summits, industry conferences and online events. His 30 years of marketing experience have included roles as client–side executive, agency principal, consultant and now as an analyst of emerging marketing strategies.