The spirit of social media is enlivening industries, refreshing marketing, and humanizing businesses. While the steps to the social revolution are gradual, so are the budgets that fund innovation. Progress is underway however, and with every experiment and pilot program, we learn the answers to the questions that serve as the gateways to change.

Early experiments are sparked within various forward-looking divisions and funded by other resident or surrounding programs or departments. As social media permeates and socializes the frameworks of the modern businesses, finances and supporting resources will shift to advance expansion.

A recent study conducted by Duke University and the American Marketing Association documented the rise of hiring, budgets, and social media spend over next year.

According to the 2010 CMO Survey, on average, CMOs expect to increase marketing budgets by 5.9% citing social media as a crucial slice of the Internet marketing mix.

Business Growth Strategies

CMOs are optimistic about the future of the U.S. economy and many are focusing efforts on proactively increasing customers, purchases and improving their abilities to retain current customers.

Over the next year, growth strategies reflect a focus on market expansion and depth.

Market penetration (introducing current products and services to current markets): 44%

Product and service development (creating and introducing new products and services to current markets): 26%

Market development (adapting current products and services to new markets): 18%

Diversification (new products/services to new markets): 13%

Digital Marketing Leads the Way

With a 5.9% average increase in marketing budgets, Internet marketing is the beneficiary of overall budget with 12.2%; social and traditional CRM accounts for 9.9%; the introduction of new products checks in at 6.9%. Traditional advertising on the other hand is estimated to fall 2.5%.

B2B

In reviewing the results from the study, it appears that B2B products and services companies are mapping out among the largest expansions in marketing spend over the next year at 8 and 7.7% respectively. When comparing B2B to B2C products and services companies however, B2C trails 2.1% and 1.6% respectively.

Branding plays a pivotal role in B2B marketing over the next 12 months, increasing spending by 11.8% compared to only 4.3 across other sectors. The socialization and modernization of CRM is also pivotal to B2B growth, representing a 16.6% rise compared to 7.5% across all other sectors.

Social Media

Social Media offers tremendous growth potential and as such, budgets are multiplying. As reported in the research, social media budgets will spring from 5.6% to 9.9% this year. However, over the next five years, social media budgets will swell to 17.7% of the total marketing spend.

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