Simply Measured’s 2016 State of Social Marketing Report

Looking to revive your social media strategy so you can finish 2016 strong?

The annual “State of Social Report” from Simply Measured is designed to help you understand the current state of social media marketing, discover the latest trends, and to get insights from other best-in-class social marketers. You can download the full report here, and in it you will learn:

• How social media fits into today’s digital landscape
• New channel specific trends for 2016
• How to tackle the biggest social media challenges

In 2016, the landscape of social media is completely different. More than 2 billion people use social media, which means it’s the marketing channel with the most potential. Unfortunately, much of that potential is untapped because content sharing is transitioning to dark channels and messaging services, along with challenges in attribution, disparate audiences, and diverse tactics.

Marketers from every industry are pushing to keep up, innovate, and make the most of this massive opportunity, and this report breaks down everything you need to know. Here are just a few highlights from the report:

1. Organizational Alignment

As the sophistication of social media professionals has grown, social media has found a home within the marketing team: The percentage of social media teams that live within the marketing organization has grown from 49% in 2015 to 63.2% in 2016.

2. The Challenge of Measuring ROI

Measuring ROI is a massive problem: 61.1% of marketers identified “Measuring ROI” as their top challenge, and only 9.4% said that they’re able to quantify revenue driven by social.

3. More Analytical Resources

Social marketing programs are strained for resources: This is apparent in the 43% who cited social analytics as a primary need, and 42.6% who cited human resources.

4. The Growth of Instagram

Instagram adoption is nearing complete penetration among brands: 94% of top brands have profiles, and 86% posted to the network in May.

5. Twitter Isn’t Leaving Anytime Soon

100% of top brands have Twitter profiles, and 99% posted in the month of May.

Download the full report to learn everything about the current state of social marketing, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and the impact social has on your overall business, and how you can make the most of it in today’s complex and content-saturated world.

At Social Media Week in Los Angeles, we heard from Kevin Shively, Head of Marketing Communications at Simply Measured, discuss the true meaning and importance of “dark social” in today’s marketing ecosystem. Learn why publishers must understand how to optimize their content as a sneak peek: