As Social Media continues to boom and evolve, it’s sometimes difficult to keep up with the latest trends and changes. What could have worked last year and the year before, may not necessarily work as well this year.
I think anybody in their right mind will tell you that a Social Media Marketing strategy is a must if you’re in business. Seeing that you go about it properly that is – and not just “be everywhere, for everyone”. Depending on who and where your target audience is, it’s usually best to have a clear focus of what channels to use and how.
Today, marketing platforms and tools can no longer afford to dismiss or neglect the magnitude of the social component – a way for consumers to actively engage and have a two-way or multi-way conversation with brands.
But then again, if you’re reading this, you probably know that already.
The good folks at CMO.com recently updated their practical Guide to the Social Media Landscape to reflect 2011. This fantastic roadmap can help marketers better understand each tool as well as how (and where) it can help them execute a successful online campaign.
In an effort to simplify the results for you, I’ve categorized the best Social Media tools (sites) for each of the 4 main groups – according to CMO’s Guide.
- Customer Satisfaction – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr
- Brand Exposure – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Digg, Tumblr
- Traffic to Your Site – Digg, StumbleUpon
- SEO – Flickr, YouTube, Digg, StumbleUpon, Tumblr
What surprised me most with these results is to see that Twitter isn’t included as a main source of Traffic. I speak for myself and many I’m sure, when I say that the little birdie has flown quite a few people my way – actually, it’s my #1 source of traffic.
Another interesting observation is that compared to last year’s chart, del.icio.us, who was then one of the best tools for SEO, has completely been omitted from this year’s guide – along with Yahoo’s Buzz. In all honesty, this doesn’t surprise me too much, as I rarely hear of either these days. But again – I speak for myself.
It’s rather interesting to see the evolution of each of these platforms in the last 12 months. I’m beginning to wonder who CMO.com and 97th Floor, the SEO and Social Media firm behind the analysis, will put to the guillotine in 2012. Reddit maybe? What do you think?
In any case, take a look at this detailed infographic and let me know your thoughts. For a larger view, click here.
Do you agree with the analysis and findings?
Is there another tool that’s working better for you?
What’s your #1 source of traffic?