Why Social Media Campaigns Fail

Brand Science Institute, a German think thank specializing in brand management, conducted a study on corporate social media projects during the past 7 months. The research sought to understand why (most) social media projects appear to not meet the expectations for success that were initially anticipated of them. BSI included 560+ marketers in its analysis, representing 52 brands from some of the largest companies across 12 European countries.

While BSI’s end results and observations are recapped in this presentation; we’ve culled some of the key findings below.

• 81% of companies surveyed lacked a clear social media strategy
• 73% of social media projects had to demonstrate their financial return after 12 months
• 72% thought social media must be viral
• 68% had never heard of the 90-9-1 principle, which states that most people online are viewers, vs. participants: 1% of people create content, 9% edit or modify that content, and 90% view the content without contributing
• 84% compare social media performance with standard media measures
• 37% think that social media is a media buy
• Only 11% have social media guidelines

While we don’t believe this to be conclusive, the research simply provides some insights to consider, learning from the hits and misses of other brands.