social: who, how, where to market

Part of this research is available to the general public, free of charge.
Excerpted from article about this Gartner's 2013 Social Marketing Survey:
"Summary: Gartner's 2013 U.S. Digital Marketing Spending Survey found that investments in content creation and social marketing totaled 21% of digital marketing budgets. Here we dive deeper into the implications of the content imperative for your social marketing strategy.

Overview:
- Impacts
a) Forty-seven percent of survey respondents see content creation and curation as the top role of their social marketing teams, often forcing them to outsource.
b) Digital marketers achieving effective social marketing create and curate content that speaks with an authentic voice.

- Recommendations
a) Balance outsourced content services with in-house expertise, building internal content creation and curation skills, while utilizing agencies and service providers to scale.
b) Develop a style guide to formalize your brand's voice and values, to clarify rules of engagement and to enforce companywide standards."

[There is a detailed analysis in the full article.]

Moreover, Jake Sorofman, Research Director at Gartner, adds some insights in his blog post:
"So it’s perhaps no surprise that Gartner’s 2013 social marketing survey pointed to content creation and curation as the key areas of focus for social marketing organizations—and the most outsourced function.

What’s different about content in the age of the social web?

- It’s human: it speaks with a conversational voice, from one human being to another. Thought isn’t hidden behind stilted corporate speak, chest-thumping claims and pompous language.
- It’s neutral: perhaps not wholly objective, but it holds fire on the hard sell in favor of issues-centric storytelling that supports a brand’s point of view without always making the brand the hero.
- It’s simple: attention spans aren’t what they used to be and competition for that limited attention has reached a fever pitch.
- It’s visual: It’s also easier to consume when you’re already up to your eyeballs in dense text.
- It’s curated: you don’t have to create all of your own content. Leverage happens when you organize and annotate third-party content that helps tell your story or sell your point of view.
- It’s conversational: communities talk back to sustain the dialogue in the form of comments, reviews, ratings and new content of their own that defends or argues against your point of view.
- It’s organic: it’s published fast, often in response to unpredictable moments."

Full article about Gartner's 2013 Social Marketing Survey:
http://www.gartner.com/technology/research/digital-marketing/social-marketing-survey.jsp

Full original post by Jake Sorofman on Gartner Blog:
http://blogs.gartner.com/jake-sorofman/forget-big-data-here-comes-big-content/