A recent survey of corporate and marketing managers by King Fish Media finds that 73 percent of respondents believe social media is the most effective tool for communicating with prospective customers. By contrast, only 33 percent believe print advertising is the most effective method.
The survey, which was conducted online, demonstrates a paradigm shift in the strategies companies are using to reach their customers as marketers shift their ad dollars away from traditional media and plan to increase their spending on original content and media in 2010.
“Marketers have been aware of the effectiveness of building relationships and trust with content since long before the Internet,” said Gordon Plutsky, director of marketing and research, King Fish. “Technological change has rapidly increased media channel options and the patterns of information consumption among consumers. More and more marketers are abandoning old media — and traditional advertising — to venture out on their own with original content.”
It is important to note that this study was conducted online via a number of sites including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, which may account for a bias toward new media.
Nevertheless, the findings are stark as a mere four percent of respondents believe that advertising in a traditional advertising vehicle is more effective for generating marketing ROI than creating original content and media.
According to the King Fish study:
- 86% of respondents’ companies are currently creating or plan to create original content for their customers and prospects in the coming year.
- 81% believe that brands and companies can create content that is a engaging and informative as content created by media companies.
- 70% are spending more today to reach customers and prospects directly with branded content than they did three years ago.
What methods are you using to reach your audience? What has worked and what hasn’t?
Photo Credit: King Fish Media
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