Commentary & Analysis

Printers may not yet be fully comfortable with social media marketing, but it’s critical that they understand the basics. Here are the primary conclusions of “2017 Social Media Marketing Industry Report” just released by the Social Media Examiner to help in that effort.

Printers often refer to themselves as marketing services providers, and if you’re in marketing, you know the importance, not just of print, but of combining print with other channels, including social media. Printers may not yet be fully comfortable with social media marketing, but it’s critical that they understand it—at least the basics. Here are the primary conclusions of “2017 Social Media Marketing Industry Report” just released by the Social Media Examiner to help in that effort. You can download the whole report for free here (PDF).

1. Visuals have become essential in social media marketing.

“A significant 85% of marketers use visuals in their marketing and 73% plan on increasing their use of visuals.”

2. You thought video was hot? Going live is sizzling.

“A significant 61% of marketers plan to use live video services such as Facebook Live and Periscope, and 69% want to learn more about live video.”

3. Instagram is on a rocketing growth trajectory.

“Currently, 54% of marketers are using Instagram, yet 63% plan on increasing their Instagram activities and 71% of marketers want to learn more about Instagram.”

Considering that commercial printing is a visual industry, this is a platform you should be capitalizing on yourself.

4. Facebook is the most important social network for marketers, and it’s not even close.

“When asked to select their most important platform, 62% of marketers chose Facebook, followed by LinkedIn at 16%.”

It is worth noting that Facebook now owns Instagram and has made it easy to integrate and cross-pollinate them.

5. If you are unsure about Facebook marketing, you’re not alone.

A significant 40% of marketers don't know if their Facebook marketing is working and 53% have seen declines in their Facebook News Feed exposure.” In other words, if you feel like a fish out of water, you’re not alone. Don’t let that deter you from figuring it out.

6. Facebook ads are the big gorilla.

“A surprising 93% of social marketers regularly use Facebook ads and 64% plan on increasing their Facebook ads activities.” I have regularly boosted posts on Facebook and used Facebook’s audience targeting and found it extremely effective. Facebook has also just added the ability to retarget people who have engaged with your company’s Facebook page, making this an extremely powerful tool for communicating with your most important and profitable audience—those who are already actively engaged with your company.

7. Tactics and engagement are the focus of marketers’ learning curve.

“At least 91% of marketers want to know the most effective social tactics and the best ways to engage their audience with social media.”

Download and read the rest of this report. It’s worth your time.