44% of Marketers Finding It Difficult to Attribute Revenue to Social Media

Many marketers have already integrated social media into their overall marketing plans. However, new research suggests that this tactic remains one of the most difficult to measure in terms of revenue.

DemandLab recently published the results of its “Revenue Attribution Outlook Survey,” and statistics showed that out of all of the top digital channels, social media marketing (44%) remains the most difficult to analyze in terms of attributing marketing results to sales revenue.

This was followed by content marketing (39%), display advertising (38%), and email marketing (33%). Out of all of the tactics measured by the researchers, SEO (18%) was the least difficult to analyze in terms of revenue attribution.

Revenue Attribution and Marketing Challenges

This is not the first batch of research to indicate that marketers are still struggling with revenue attribution. Previous research points to marketers facing numerous challenges in this area.

Ascend2 conducted its “Revenue Attribution Outlook” report, and data showed that the greatest barriers to success for marketers in terms of revenue attribution are data quality (42%), analyzing marketing impact at each buyer stage (40%), and obtaining budget and staff (36%).

Most respondents (47%) said that social media was the most problematic channel in terms of measurement. Content marketing (40%), video marketing (35%) and email marketing (33%) also made the list, suggesting that marketers are finding difficulties with attribution across the board.