This year will be remembered as the year in which marketers put tons more bucks, time, and effort into social media marketing than ever before.
“By the end of next year, 88.9 percent of U.S. marketers with 100 or more employees will use social networks for marketing purposes — and the areas in which they place their attention are expanding,” reports eMarketer.
And the growth will continue. That’s forecasted by eMarketer’s recent report — “U.S. Social Trends for 2016: eMarketer Predictions for Video, Viewability, Buy Buttons, Messaging and More.” It predicts that Facebook and Twitter will remain the top social networks used by U.S. companies in 2016, but also that Instagram will see rapid growth.
“Next year, 48.8 percent of marketers are expected to use the platform, up from 18.4 percent in 2014. Now that Instagram is open to all advertisers, it is attracting significant attention,” notes eMarketer.
Of course, spending is also surging.
Consider this: Marketing professionals surveyed in October 2015 by the research company Ascend2 for its “Social Media Marketing Trends” report confirmed that a mere 2 percent planned to decrease social budgets in the future. On the other hand, 67 percent were planning increases.
“Keeping up with developments in social media is challenging for marketers, but the fact that they are increasing usage and spending makes it clear they are committed to the space, regardless of the shifts that take place from year to year,” concludes eMarketer.