However, it’s my opinion that the medium is still early in it’s evolution and it’s adoption. Let’s keep in mind “Moore’s Law“: Social Media is going to change as it grows; probably at the same rate as microprocessors.
Again, many people are jumping in with both feet:
In just the last 6 months, marketers have shifted their attitudes toward social media marketing spending. This was recently affirmed in the new study, “The CMO Survey” from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the American Marketing Association. (“what’s a CMO?“)
A key finding: Social media marketing budgets continue to rise. According to the results, businesses currently allocate 6% of their marketing budgets to social media, an allotment they expect to increase to 10% during the next year and 18% over the next 5 years.
Back in August 2009, marketers had already planned on devoting more money to social media. However, in February 2010, marketers reported that they plan to allocate one-fifth of their marketing budgets to social media marketing in the next 5 years. This is a definite increase from the 2009 projections. The study features the following comparison from August 2009 to February 2010:
Current marketing budget spending on social media:
- August 2009: 3.5%
- February 2010: 5.6%
- August 2009: 6.1%
- February 2010: 9.9%
- Marketing budget spending on social media in the next 5 years:August 2009: 13.7%
- February 2010: 17.7%
A recent study, “The State of Small Business Report,” sponsored by Network Solutions, LLC and the University of Maryland’sRobert H. Smith School of Business, points to economic struggles as the catalyst for social media’s rapid popularity.
The study results show that social media usage by small business owners increased from 12% to 24% in just the last year, and almost 1 out of 5 actively uses social media as part of his or her marketing strategy.
Here’s a breakdown of what the small businesses reported as the main uses of social media marketing:
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