• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, November 17, 2015

Sponsored social media advertising is more effective than many traditional marketing approaches, according to a survey of 511 marketing executives and managers conducted by the Halverson Group on behalf of IZEA, which connects brands with content creators on social media.

The proportion of survey subjects that had direct professional experience with social media in any form increased from 68% in 2014 to 73% in 2015, while the proportion using sponsored social media, including sponsored posts and influencer marketing, edged up from 53% to 54%.

Over the same period, the proportion using traditional online display fell from 58% to 54%. 64% were using content marketing in 2015, with no data for 2014.

Marketers gave sponsored social media an average effectiveness rating of 7.29, ahead of online display, at 6.55; TV ads, at 6.46; radio ads, at 5.65; magazine ads, at 5.46; and newspaper ads, at 4.79. On the other hand social media ranked behind experiential marketing, which received an average effectiveness rating of 7.46, and content marketing, which ranked highest at 7.75.

Among sponsored social elements, the most popular tactics were sponsored Facebook updates, used by 60% of marketers surveyed, up from 56% last year. Promotions aiming to have consumers to “like” or “follow” a brand have decreased in popularity, falling from 63% to 56% and from 54% to 48%, respectively.

Sponsored tweets followed at 40%, up 1% from 2014; then came sponsored blog posts, at 32%, down from 35%. Further down the totem pole were sponsored pins, at 7% this year, up 1% from last year, and sponsored Vines, at 5% (with no prior year information).

Asked about price points, marketers expected to pay an average $473 for a sponsored video on social media; $411 for a sponsored blog post; $249 for a sponsored photo; $244 for a sponsored Facebook update; $219 for a sponsored tweet; and $102 for a sponsored pin.