Finding right staff to execute programs also problematic
What's the value of a tweet or Facebook "like"? That's a key question for many marketing executives, according to a new survey from the Creative Group. More than one in four (27 per cent) advertising and marketing executives said their greatest stumbling block when it comes to social media is measuring the success of their efforts, including determining its return on investment.
"It's not always easy to determine which social media channels and forms of outreach via these sites are most beneficial for a business," said Lara Dodo, regional vice-president of the Creative Group in Canada. "Tracking a variety of metrics, like numbers of re-tweets or shares, can provide a more complete picture of the success of a social media campaign, but it can't capture everything since many marketing campaigns, social media included, are designed to build brand awareness over a long time frame."
Finding knowledgeable staff to execute social media programs is problematic for 19 per cent of the 250 executives surveyed.
Other social media challenges include gaining executive support (17 per cent) and finding the budget for social media initiatives (14 per cent).
Finding the right people to plan, execute and monitor social media programs has its own set of challenges.
"Hiring managers should look for candidates who are passionate about using social media, but more importantly, who can spot trends and identify solutions to real-world business problems, using sites like Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest," said Dodo.
