SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Social Media — tracks feedback from leading marketers about social media practices and issues.
Last week’s poll question: Are you integrating your social media presence with other sales, marketing and PR efforts?
Yes, all my efforts are integrated: 40.37%
Yes, but only in select instances: 40.37%
No, but I’m considering it: 11.18%
No, and I don’t see why I should bother: 8.07%
This week’s results aren’t surprising –- more than 80% are integrating their social media presence with other outreach efforts. It’s important to engage your customers where they are, and social media is becoming a ubiquitous part of our lives and communications.
Most unexpected are the 8.07% who say they don’t plan to integrate their social media presence. Social media provides a low-cost platform to further spread your brand’s message. In an earlier poll, readers said that business-to-consumer companies have benefited more from social media than business-to-business companies (32.08% to 2.83%), indicating that perhaps some non-integrators may be working for B2B firms.
Or maybe non-integrators just don’t have the time. Social media is cheap, but it still takes work to maintain a presence and integrate it with other campaigns. While understandable, it’s probably better to stay away from social media altogether rather than to do a lackluster job, leaving a bitter taste in your customers’ mouths.
If you are integrating, what results have you gotten? If you aren’t — why not?