Marketers looking to increase their spend in 2012 are increasingly turning to social media, reports suggest.
Research by email marketing firm Strong Mail found that 92 per cent of businesses plan to raise or maintain their advertising spend in 2012, with 55 per cent looking to spend the extra allocation on social media marketing.
The report, which quizzed 939 business leaders from around the world, found that a rise in mobile marketing spend was cited by 37 per cent, as was an increase in search marketing.
When asked on their integration plans, 68 per cent said they planned to combine their email marketing with a social media campaign. Further, 47 per cent of those looking to up their email marketing spend are doing so to drive traffic to their social media site, marketwatch.com reports.
Of those questioned, only 7 per cent said they planned on decreasing their marketing budget, down from last year’s 8 per cent.
Writing on marketingpilgrim.com of the results, marketing blogger Cynthia Boris explained: “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.”