CFS Direct

New Research: Marketers are finally moving into social media along with budgets

In case small-to mid-size ad agencies aren’t paying attention from their lack of participation in social media, I wanted to highlight some new research which points to the fact that more marketers are moving into this arena … and their budgets are following. According to the "The ROI on Social Media Marketing" report from the Aberdeen Group, that Visible Technologies sponsored, 63% of the companies in their survey planned to increase their social media marketing budgets this year. eMarketer estimated that social network advertising alone will rise over 17% this year to $2.35 billion, up from $2 billion in 2008.

"Things are finally starting to change. Companies are learning how to leverage social media and tap into the rising tide of consumers participating in social network sites, blogs, wikis and Twitter. Marketers have developed the tools and methodologies to drive marketing ROI by listening to and learning from customers and prospects. As so, the dollars are following this tide, says "Blake Chahill, Visible Techonologies"

Five Compelling Facts from the Research, Providing Actionable Benefits for Readers:

58% of companies have dedicated resources devoted to social media marketing

61% of companies have online community platforms (e.g., discussion forums, ratings and reviews, etc.)

68% of companies increased their investments in social media marketing while 34% are keeping their investment level that same as last year

84% of companies aim to track and measure the ROI of their social media marketing activities

58% of companies have dedicated resources devoted to social media marketing

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by Email Michael Gass, agency new business consultant, primarily to small and mid-size advertising agencies, utilizing both traditional and new media tools.