I’m going to do something here I’ve never done before. I’m going to share an infographic!
Jon Aston will be so proud. He’ll tell all of his friends and then we’ll be a big hit (not really; he hates infographics).
And, truth be told, I’m not a fan of them, either. Particularly on Pinterest because they take up too much room and that irritates me when I’m scrolling through my stream on my phone.
But alas. That isn’t the point.
Geoff Livingston (rightly so) thought we should have an infographic to support the book, made up of the stats we used from our research. And, so, RAD Campaign set out to create something for us and, when we received it, I said, “Wow. That’s really cool!”
What the Infographic Tells You
The market research cited in the infographic demonstrates that, as much hype and discussion as there has been with social media, it has not entered the core of marketing strategy.
A recent study showed 74 percent of business-to-business organizations have not implemented a social media strategy (which I can tell you is true anecdotally), and 35 percent of these same businesses don’t see social as important. This data doesn’t factor in mobile media.
We also discovered the overfocus on social media conversation betrays several marketing realities:
- Social media represents a very small percentage of the overall marketing expenditure;
- Direct mail and purchased media (ads) represent the greatest expenditure in a company; and
- While the online marketing blogging community talk about social incessantly, half of chief marketing officers haven’t figured out how to bring the discipline into the fold.
We know most organizations delegate social and mobile to a department such as the advertising, PR, interactive, or customer service department. Many still treat “new” media like a sandbox…creating a Twitter strategy or a Pinterest strategy. And most departments act autonomously of each other.
Marketing in the Round Infographic
So without further ado, I give you some pretty interesting stats that will make you rethink how you approach your marketing or communication program, how you integrate social media, how you measure your efforts, and maybe even entice you to buy the book to learn more.
S
So, my confession: I really dislike infographics, too! I like them when they are above the fold or one screen view and tell a story. But 98% of them suck. They are long, are hard to read, and don’t tell stories.
So why do it?
Because our customers — marketers and counicators — love them. It’s about them, not me. Selling books or any kind of product/service is a customer centric activity. It’s the same reason I use Pinterest in spite of my dislike for it.
I think this one tells a story, matches the book branding, and fits the need. It does the job!
@geoffliving It’s what Tom Webster calls “data for the sake of content creation”. ginidietrich
@geoffliving Content for the sake of content creation. Blegh. @ginidietrich
@jasonkonopinski @geoffliving @ginidietrich I am working on the first day of sales for the book Infographic. Seems the biggest sales were in the tiny enclave of pushnitzky in belarus.
@HowieSPM Have you noticed that the best selling eBooks are eBooks about writing eBooks – I noticed that while I was reading an infograph about eBooks – not implying that your book is an eBook … or an Infograph
@geoffliving I LOVE PINTEREST!
@ginidietrich Ha! And aren’t we playing great team ball there, too? 😉
@ginidietrich If I had an ounce of anything left in me after this day I would create an infograph about this entire thread.
Infographics work ALL the time, 30% of the time
@SociallyGenius LOL! You kill me. Ha!!
Not a pretty picture for the state of social media marketing but certainly tells the story, especially for those of us who are statistically challenged.
@annelizhannan Not pretty at all, is it? When we were writing the book, it was really disconcerting to see how few companies are investing in integration, as a whole. And the “we have a Twitter strategy” is like nails on a chalkboard to me.
I would like an outright ban on infographics on Pinterest. They harsh my buzz. Anyway, this one is good because it doesn’t require a magnifying glass to read the text. Your book is next on my nightstand! Can’t wait to dive in.
@rosemaryoneill well @ginidietrich knows I hate them because they often are riddled with misleading or false facts. In fact when I called Chris Brogan on this awhile back for one he posted he said basically its ok because marketers aren’t honest. And Chris Voss told me his bad infographic was fine because he linked the source of the bad data on his blog.
But she did good!
@rosemaryoneill ME TOO! It makes me nuts, especially when I’m on my phone and one fills up 3/4 of my stream. But they are visual so I get it.
Send me a picture of you holding the book so I can pin it!
@ginidietrich Just tweeted you the evidence 🙂 Can’t wait to delve in.
Gini I’m pinning this infographic just for you! : )
@jennimacdonald Bwahahahaah!
You were very careful with that infographic knowing I was coming.
This is interesting because yesterday GM canceled $10m in Facebook ads because they don’t work. But they will use Facebook just not their ads. cbaccus and I have discussed that for Facebook they really are a banner ad site and banner ad sites like Yahoo etc we have to stop looking at clicks. And more view them no different than print say (but hey clicks are great!). And Ford mocked GM on twitter (Thanks Chris) but I feel their point is yours here. It should be part of your strategy not THE STRATEGY
http://www.businessinsider.com/ford-gms-facebook-ads-dont-work-because-gm-sucks-ours-work-fine-2012-5
Which is why I was dumbfounded when i was on the Pepsi site (big pepsi fan here btw) and checked out the new lower sugar version. and clicked on it..and it sent me to their freaking facebook page! I was like now I have no sympathy as your market share declines who is doing your marketing. You got me to your proprietary site all tricked out with all your bells and whistles and you send me to facebook?
I think RC cola is coming up fast.
Anyway integrate the pieces to make the whole. Funnel it all towards the sale or your goal. Then measure and see what areas work best and double up on those.
Nuff Said!
I want to clarify. Facebook is more than a banner ad site. I meant for direct marketing that is what it is. For a free customer service platform and a place to engage some of your most devout customers it has a place. Obviously GM is looking strictly for direct marketing.
@HowieSPM I saw that article hit my stream yesterday, but I haven’t read it yet. I do think it’s interesting it’s news that GM is abandoning their FB ads.
@ginidietrich @HowieSPM They won’t be the last company to pull their ads from FBook. IPO is happening on the beginning of the down slope!
I think the first two thirds of your post require an additional infograph!
@paulinabrusca Ha!
The infographic did not burn my eyes out, Facebook — Mom said if you can’t say anything nice.
[sidebar] the reality shows need to take a hint: the best stuff is direct to the market that understands the service, product, thingie and information. Michael Bay made a film called, “The Island” and had two marketing “nozzles”[1] pushing the film. Team A got box office gold; Team B managed to give him the lowest turnout ever. Capital flop because Team B was clueless. Add insult to injury Team A was locked out.
Now tell me the industry is not chasing rainbows on social.
-d
@fairuse Unfortunately, though, reality shows are hugely popular. Which goes to the conversation we had here yesterday about what types of stuff people like to read and watch. It kind of makes me nuts.
You know, I wrote of my sorta liking but not getting the value of some infographics not too long ago (http://bit.ly/HfOkfO) and we talked about them during today’s soloPR chat — most are either over-designed and/or mis-targeted. Pictures are pretty and all, but only if it’s the right info, targeted to the right people (and like @geoffliving said it’s ‘us’ marketer/comm/journalists who read them, ‘average’ consumers not so much), and you can tell who’s sponsoring the darn thing. Congrats, yours doesn’t suck. 🙂 FWIW.
@3HatsComm @geoffliving LOL!! Geoff, do you see this?! We win!
@ginidietrich @3HatsComm Yes, we do! LOL!
[…] Gini practices what she preaches and actually knows a thing or two about PR, marketing and social. Here is someone who gets her hands dirty, does the day to day work, acknowledges the people who help and supports the riffraff (read: me) And you want to know what she practices day in and day out? Yep. Generosity and engagement. […]
OK – where the f*ck is Jon Aston ??? 🙂
@DannyBrown Jon Aston Seriously!!!
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