Sponsored social media advertising is more effective than many traditional marketing approaches, according to a survey of 511 marketing executives and managers conducted by the Halverson Group on behalf of IZEA, which connects brands with content creators on social media.
The proportion of survey subjects who had direct professional experience with social media in any form increased from 68% in 2014 to 73% in 2015, while the proportion using sponsored social media, including sponsored posts and influencer marketing, edged up from 53% to 54%. Over the same period the proportion using traditional online display fell from 58% to 54%. 64% were using content marketing in 2015, with no data for 2014.
Marketers gave sponsored social media an average effectiveness rating of 7.29, ahead of online display, at 6.55; TV ads, at 6.46; radio ads, at 5.65; magazine ads, at 5.46; and newspaper ads, at 4.79. On the other hand social media ranked behind experiential marketing, which received an average effectiveness rating of 7.46, and content marketing, which ranked highest at 7.75.
