With the end of 2011 nearly upon us, it’s time to take a look at 2012 and from here, it’s looking pretty nice.
StrongMail has published the results of their marketing trends survey and we’ve got it all right here. The most encouraging sign is the fact that 92% of businesses surveyed said they plan to increase or maintain their marketing spend.
For those planning to increase, email was awarded the biggest bonus with 60% of respondents saying they’ll increase spend in that area. Social media was a close second with 55%.
But take a look at mobile. Only 37% said they’d be spending more marketing dollars in that area and that’s both surprising and not. Surprising, because mobile is one of the fastest moving trends in both marketing and for consumers. With so many people turning to mobile to shop, it’s an avenue that has to be explored if a company wants to stay current.
On the other hand, mobile is still a conundrum for many marketers. We know apps are hot, but how do you make them, distribute them and keep them updated? What about paid search on mobile? What’s the ROI? Lots of questions and still too new to have a lot of answers.
Focus, Focus
68% of marketers said they’d be focused on integrating email marketing and social media. This is a trend we saw blow up in 2011 – that of sending customers to a Facebook page or Twitter account rather than a company website. For companies with a variety of brands, a Facebook page is a great way to cultivate an audience for a specific niche. And for most brands, Facebook pages are much more casual and fun than a corporate web presence.
What are marketers hoping to get out of that social media push?
Awareness tops the list with building customer loyalty coming in second. Note how low “driving revenue” is on the chart. All this time and we still don’t see social media as a way to make money.
Overall, it looks like marketers are willing to work a mix of old and new in order to bring in those customers and keep them happy. Social media may be on the rise, but no one is giving up on search or even direct mail.
The next hurdle is getting more comfortable with mobile. Because you know, once we get there, something totally new will come along.
StrongMail has published the results of their marketing trends survey and we’ve got it all right here. The most encouraging sign is the fact that 92% of businesses surveyed said they plan to increase or maintain their marketing spend.
For those planning to increase, email was awarded the biggest bonus with 60% of respondents saying they’ll increase spend in that area. Social media was a close second with 55%.
But take a look at mobile. Only 37% said they’d be spending more marketing dollars in that area and that’s both surprising and not. Surprising, because mobile is one of the fastest moving trends in both marketing and for consumers. With so many people turning to mobile to shop, it’s an avenue that has to be explored if a company wants to stay current.
On the other hand, mobile is still a conundrum for many marketers. We know apps are hot, but how do you make them, distribute them and keep them updated? What about paid search on mobile? What’s the ROI? Lots of questions and still too new to have a lot of answers.
Focus, Focus
68% of marketers said they’d be focused on integrating email marketing and social media. This is a trend we saw blow up in 2011 – that of sending customers to a Facebook page or Twitter account rather than a company website. For companies with a variety of brands, a Facebook page is a great way to cultivate an audience for a specific niche. And for most brands, Facebook pages are much more casual and fun than a corporate web presence.
What are marketers hoping to get out of that social media push?
Awareness tops the list with building customer loyalty coming in second. Note how low “driving revenue” is on the chart. All this time and we still don’t see social media as a way to make money.
Overall, it looks like marketers are willing to work a mix of old and new in order to bring in those customers and keep them happy. Social media may be on the rise, but no one is giving up on search or even direct mail.
The next hurdle is getting more comfortable with mobile. Because you know, once we get there, something totally new will come along.
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