Fifth of UK businesses still have no social media strategy - are you missing out on leads

A fifth of UK businesses are yet to develop a social media strategy, according to a report by direct marketing firm Catalogues 4 Business (C4B).

An alarming statistic considering that research by C4B last year revealed that social media is the fifth most effective marketing tool for businesses.

A further third of businesses surveyed admitted to having made initial attempts to utilise social media before giving up. Considering the strong lead generation and traffic conversion powers of social media channels, the trend of businesses throwing in the towel is surprising and perhaps attributable to a lack of confidence and expertise in social media management.

What's more, C4B's 2013 statistics reported that 67% of businesses were using social media as a marketing tool. In comparison to this year's figures, this shows a fall in usage.

C4B's Managing Director, Ian Simpson said he was surprised that social media was a more popular tool when the firm carried out research last year.

I would've assumed that this figure would have risen, not fallen so dramatically, he said.

Does it imply that many businesses have made an attempt before giving up You would expect all companies to have social media included in their marketing mix. It's a fantastic method of customer interaction - for both existing and potential customers. Perhaps an insufficient social media strategy failed to see initial attempts get off the ground, he added.

Many estate and letting agents have seen their workload increase as the market has ignited since the turn of the year, hunting elusive stock from landlords and vendors, whilst carrying out increased numbers of open house viewings for prospective buyers.

Due to this, time for social media and digital marketing is scarce and many agents across the country could be missing out on valuable leads and brand recognition by neglecting their social responsibility - now part of the fabric of being a modern agent.

At Angels Media - agent supplier specialists and publishers of EAT and LAT - we provide a cutting edge social media marketing service for estate and letting agents. We understand that time is precious and we want agents to concentrate on doing what they do best: selling and letting property.

From bespoke content posts to engagement and interaction with potential and existing clients, our social media service is implemented across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+, the four most effective and popular social media channels for business.

To find out more about our array of social media and digital marketing services, please contact Craig Vile on: 0208 663 4963, or email craig.vile@angelsmedia.co.uk