“Social media spending as a percentage of marketing budgets will more than double over the next five years.” – Fast Company
IN BRIEF
According to a Duke University survey of U.S. Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs), social media spending as a percentage of marketing budgets will more than double over the next five years. It indicates that 8.4% of budgets are currently spent on social media and that the figure will reach 21.6% in the next five years.
THE RAMEY PERSPECTIVE
According to another study by BIA/Kelsey, while paid social media advertising is expected to increase, it is not expected to more than double in the next five years (2013-2017). This study shows that total budgets are increasing while traditional media remains basically flat. Paid social media advertising is increasing the total budgets by 11%. The internal budget needed for maintaining social sites and consumer relationships is sure to increase for businesses as social media continues to grow. That said, the expected internal growth does not appear to transfer to paid social media advertising budgets. Regardless of the exact amount of growth, one thing is clear: social media spending is on the rise and does not look like it will be slowing down anytime soon.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR EVERYONE
Clearly, social media is growing and is an important part of consumers’ multimedia experience. It is necessary for marketers to add social accountability responsibilities to their offerings. This accountability will be as much about earned media as it is about paid media. Ramey has begun that process, and we are now managing many successful social campaigns for our clients. In the next five years we predict traditional media will remain flat, and we are suggesting our clients spend more in line with the consumption pattern of media. Ramey’s clients are ahead of the curve on digital technology and have increased their social and online media spending by more than 10% in the last year. For marketers to be successful in the next five years, they will need to brand, measure and optimize their content across many social channels. This medium has shown proven success, and the research supports that – to be successful – marketers will need to consider increasing their social media spending to be aligned with consumer consumption.
Amanda Hall, Media Planner/Senior Media Buyer at The Ramey Agency
