Marketers Plan Surge In 'Social Media' Spending, But Don't Know How To Quantify Its Impact


Brand marketers say they will more than double the share of their budgets being allocated to “social media” -- boosting it to an average of 18.1% from 7.4% currently -- according to a national survey of CMOs released today by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

The findings, which are based on the responses of 408 top U.S. marketing executives participating in the email-based survey fielded early this year, indicate that marketers are boosting their social media spending even though they cannot quantitatively show its benefit.

The study found that nearly half of respondents said “they have no proof it helps,” and more than a third (34.8%) said they only have a “qualitative sense” of its benefit.

Not surprisingly, the respondents said they plan to dramatically increase their spending on marketing analytics, boosting their budgets an average of 72%.

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3 comments about "Marketers Plan Surge In 'Social Media' Spending, But Don't Know How To Quantify Its Impact".
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  1. Ted Rubin from The Rubin Organization / Return on Relationship, February 19, 2014 at 5:34 p.m.

    Simply because they are trying to measure it the same way they measure their other digital spends.

  2. Craig Mcdaniel from Sweepstakes Today LLC, February 20, 2014 at 1:28 p.m.

    In social media, companies need to have a short and long term plan and goal in what they are trying to archive. In publishing sweepstakes, we go after the short term marketing considering that most sweeps run less than 45 days. Our target market is 40 to 60 year olds with about 65 percent female. I mention this because most companies because the old school advertising and marketing ideas still work but are completely different in the social media markets with targets the younger markets. Social media is whole new game which most don't even fully understand including myself and I work with social media sweepstakes daily. What I do understand the most successful online marketers believe in building their own brand through their own domain name first then looking to social to widen their brand.

  3. Kevin Horne from Verizon, February 21, 2014 at 2:27 a.m.

    Really, Joe? You really believe nearly 20% of the average marketing budget will go to social media? When overall digital spend just crossed that threshold after roughly 15 years? Really? Debunked the whole thing a year ago here... http://lairigmarketing.typepad.com/lairig_marketing/2013/04/cmos-lies-surveys-part-3-of-many.html

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