Only 33% of Marketers Can ‘Mostly’ Connect an ROI to Social Media

Marketers’ challenge to demonstrate a return-on-investment (ROI) from social media continues, but new research suggests they still intend to increase their investment in this channel over the course of the year.

ListenFirst published its “2022 Social Media Marketing Trends Survey,” and statistics indicated that most marketers (46%) can only “sometimes” tie their social media marketing efforts to ROI. About 33% said that they could “mostly” do so, while 7% claimed that they are never able to make the connection.

That being said, more than 50% of respondents stated that they will be increasing their spend on social media in 2022. Furthermore, 55% claimed that they boosted their investment in this channel during the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 4.5% said that they will be decreasing the amount they spend on social media this year.

Social Media and B2B Marketing Success

B2B marketers, in particular, have seen success utilizing social media, according to previous research. In fact, it has become one of their top growing channels.

Oktopost conducted “The 2021 State of B2B Social Media Marketing” report, and data indicated that social media (82%) was the top growing marketing channel of the year for B2B marketers. This was followed by website (67%), search/PPC (39%) and email (37%).

Additionally, social media marketing was also considered to be the most effective marketing initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to 78% of respondents. Email marketing (55%) came in the second spot.

“Email marketing has always been the bright center of the universe for B2B,” stated the authors of the report. “But with old-school channels shrinking due to pandemic closures, connecting with customers and prospects on social media has become more of a priority than ever.”