The difficulty of measurement in social networks is the main barrier to its use, while the most important is its value as a communication tool
affilinet,’s leading company in results marketing and affiliation, today presents the results of the study that the company has made for the second year in a row among the professionals who attended OMExpo Madrid 2011, the largest digital marketing event. On this occasion, affilinet wanted to know the importance of different online marketing channels to generate sales, as well as the current weight of them in companies and future trends in the sector.
The results of this study show the relevance that social networks are acquiring in the development of marketing strategies of companies. Although the majority of respondents say they currently allocate most of their budget to SEM shares, it confirms their intention to give more weight to these networks in the next year to the detriment of SEM, e-mailing, display and mobile. More specifically, 1 in 10 foresees an increase in its activities in this channel of more than 20%.
The quality that OMExpo attendees stand out from on social networks is their value as a communication tool, and this is the function most exploited by them. On the contrary, the main barrier encountered in this medium is the difficulty it presents to measure results, which is the fundamental reason why almost 5% still do not use social media. This figure contrasts enormously with the results obtained in the study carried out by affilinet last year, in which 19.3% of the participants said that they still do not have this medium in their online marketing strategies because they consider it still too immature in our country. . “This evolution of the figures in just 1 year shows the importance and impact that social networks are acquiring in the marketing strategies of companies,” says Cristina Berzal, director of affilinet. “As the respondents have revealed through their intentions for the future, the development of social networks has only just begun and their prominence in companies will increase exponentially. The potential is there; now it is necessary to explore in more depth how to transform the critical mass of users that make up these networks into final buyers. The development of social networks has only just begun and its prominence in companies will increase exponentially. The potential is there; now it is necessary to explore in more depth how to transform the critical mass of users that make up these networks into final buyers. The development of social networks has only just begun and its prominence in companies will increase exponentially. The potential is there; now it is necessary to explore in more depth how to transform the critical mass of users that make up these networks into final buyers.
Affiliation, as a source of sales generation, is already working on it. ”
When analyzing the results related to affiliation, we observe that almost 28% consider it as the most suitable channel to generate online sales. Moreover, the weight of this channel within marketing strategies will continue to grow in the next year, with almost half of respondents saying they expect growth in their affiliation activities of more than 6%. “Affiliate marketing is an important sales tool without the need for high investment due to its nature of payment for results. On the other hand, each time we find a greater connection between this channel and social networks, which are beginning to be used not only as a communication tool but also as an indirect means of selling “.
Despite the expected, the respondents are still somewhat reluctant to have mobile marketing in their strategic plans. This is the medium to which the lowest budget is currently allocated and, despite expecting a slight increase in investment in it, 39% say they do not expect any increase in their activity in this medium during the current year.
