UK Ad Associations Form Social Media Partnership

Assessment of ROI and more general measurement are two of the biggest challenges to further investment in social media activity, according to research by new partners, the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) and advertisers' association the ISBA.

The IAB's membership is around 640 involved in digital advertising, while ISBA is the representative body for British advertisers with over 430 members representing more than £10 billion per annum on marketing communications.

The two bodies have teamed up 'to help brands bring more sense to their social media strategies' and will work closely together on combined events, presentations and focus groups to educate members about social media 'opportunities and pitfalls'. An initial Guide to the area is due for launch before Christmas.

To help steer the efforts of both bodies, the IAB conducted an open-ended, anonymous survey with around 50 ISBA members, and found that the most popular use of social media is as a PR tool to reach bloggers and online influencers (69%); second is the extension of brand web sites via the likes of Facebook and Twitter; while 52% are using social media as a research tool to find out what people are saying about their product or service; and around 30% to perform a customer service function.

The survey suggests the five biggest challenges for brands in social media are monitoring and control; robust measurement and ROI; uncertainty over (and lack of) corporate policy and regulation; uncertainty about social media strategy and which elements should be priorities; and the place of social media within organisations: which department should be driving activity, from a list including PR, marketing, customer service and 'brand' teams?

Amy Kean, Head of the IAB Social Media Council, comments: 'For the IAB, the evangelism stage of our support for the social media industry is very much over, and now is the time to take real steps to address the concerns that brands have about entering this space.' ISBA's Marketing Services Manager David Ellison says the survey 'proves that social media is high on the digital agenda and that there is a great deal of uncertainty, even as to whether brands feel they should get involved at all.'

The full report is available upon request. Web sites: www.iabuk.net and www.isba.org.uk .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.