Oh how communicators love social media, or do they? According to recent research by automation software provider Hopper HQ, half of marketers don’t see the point of Twitter any more and hardly any use Snapchat for their clients.
Key findings
- Almost half of marketers (46%) don’t find Twitter useful anymore
- More than three quarters (79%) no longer use Twitter for employer or client social media marketing
- Only 2% of people say they used Snapchat anymore for clients
- The majority (72%) say the monthly spend on Twitter is £0
- The average monthly ad spend on Instagram is £7,000
- The average monthly spend on Facebook is £12,000
The main reason for Twitter being considered useless is because of its “lack of useful engagement”, on the platform – with other respondents citing “trolling” and “negative users” as reasons that they didn’t see the platform as a useful marketing tool.
Two ways improve social
These are the suggestions marketers have for improving social media platforms:
- Four-fifths (80%) say they would like live links to be added to Instagram
- Nearly all (94%) say they would like an ‘edit tweet’ feature to be added on Twitter
Budget problems
There are also budget issues with social, with nearly three quarters (72%) of B2B marketers struggling to obtain social budget from their clients, despite four fifths (80%) of marketing professionals saying that social media was the most accessible and easiest marketing tool to use.
Social media evolution
Discussing how marketers are constantly having to adapt to changes in social, Mike Bandar, founder of automation software provider Hopper HQ, says: “The days of Twitter and Facebook being the dominant social media channels for not just the public, but for marketers, are slowly drifting into the past. As the social media landscape continues to change, it’s clear that the professionals who work within the space are evolving with it. Social media is one of the most dynamic routes to an audience in the world, and for the people whose job it is to use it to their and their clients’ advantage, it is extremely important to choose the right avenues and channels.”
Death of Twitter
Analysing the apparent unpopularity of Twitter, Bandar says: “There’s been a lot of talk about Twitter struggling with active user numbers in recent years, and there has been an audible groan from the marketing community and public about the usefulness of the platform. However, to see such a small number of marketers using it professionally is surprising – especially when we look at how huge Twitter was just a couple of years ago. I think this downfall in popularity is mostly owing to advances in other platforms, such as Instagram and Snapchat, which have levelled the social media playing field. Most will agree that Facebook is the biggest and most useful social media channel, however, I think the rise of popularity in Instagram in particular has had a massive impact on Twitter – as well as damaging Snapchat’s use by replicating features such as ‘Stories’.”
Looks like Twitter may have had its day... so I’m off to tweet that right now!
Methodology
Hopper HQ surveyed more than 2,000 marketers from the UK to see what they thought about social media and the different platforms at their disposal.
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