Twitter
may be booming, and Facebook stratospheric -- but leading chief marketing officers apparently have not yet sent the dollars wildly chasing the traffic.
A new study shows that nearly 85% of
CMOs spend less than 10% of their budgets on social media, and what's described as "non-traditional communications channels."
The research from Hill & Knowlton and peer networking group the CMO
Club also found that 55% spend 5% or less in the emerging arenas. The figures come in light of Pew & American Life Internet Project research showing that in 2008, 35% of adult Internet users had
profiles on social networks -- up from 8% in 2005.
Pete Krainik -- the former marketing chief at Avaya and DoubleClick CMO, who is now leading the CMO Club -- states that using new-media
marketing is critical as the former push approach in marketing has switched to more of a pull dynamic.
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"Marketing used to be a linear process, with a discussion flowing from the CMO to the
target audience," he states. "In today's digital age, communication has evolved into a new model that requires active listening and engaging in numerous conversations."
The CMO Club has 800
members, and 124 were surveyed for the study between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15.
One hurdle: Club members indicated that some companies are grappling with putting together social-media marketing
policies internally. Thirty-one percent report that their companies are developing a policy -- and an additional 30% say they have one. A policy can be crucial in deciding how much to enlist bloggers
as evangelists.
MaryLee Sachs, a top Hill & Knowlton executive, states: "Everyone is an influencer in today's marketplace. Building advocacy by engaging all audiences can lend a tremendous
amount of credibility to any marketing program. A holistic approach helps forge new paths to customers, generating brand loyalty and building critical relationships."