Survey: Digital Marketing, Social Media Remain Top Tactics Among Marketers

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way marketers do business, new research shows that they are falling back on some of their favorite tactics, such as social media marketing, to maintain a certain level of success.

S2 recently published the “S2 Research Marketing Decision Makers & Marketing Firm Relationships Survey,” and participants were asked to rank how important they perceived seven common marketing tactics to be, ranging from public relationships to copywriting and design. At the top of the list (5.3) was digital marketing and social media, followed by marketing and audience research (5.1).

Direct marketing and sales (4.6), copywriting and design (4.1) and public relations (3.1) also made the list. At the bottom were media planning and buying (2.9) and grassroots and event marketing (2.8).

“‘Grassroots and Event Marketing’ came in as the least-important marketing tactic overall, likely due to changes in the world of in-person meetings and events as a result of the coronavirus,” wrote the authors of the report. “‘Media Planning and Buying’ and ‘Public Relations,’ meanwhile, also ranked as relatively low in importance for future marketing according to the respondent base.”

Turning to Popular Marketing Channels for Success

While it’s true that the coronavirus outbreak has changed the way marketers do business, new research shows that they were already using multiple channels for their campaigns.

PFL and Demand Metric recently released the “State of Multichannel Marketing” report, and data showed that 54% of marketers use three or four different marketing channels for their campaigns. About 23% turn to five channels, while 14% use between six and nine different channels.

Email is the most popular channel, with 90% of respondents stating that they utilize it in their strategy. This was followed by social media marketing (84%) and events (71%), such as trade shows and webinars.