The TechnoratiMedia 2013 Digital Influence Report has been released, and according to the results, brands have taken their digital messaging to the social web. However, there is a lot of room for improvement.
Nine out of 10 brands surveyed for the study indicated that they have a presence on Facebook, and nearly 7 out of 10 brands reported that they participate in online influencer marketing. Across the board, digital ad budgets are increasing with mobile being a key focus for brands in 2013.
Taking a closer look at the data from the study, you can see where brands are spending time on social messaging. The following data shows the percentage of brands with presences on some of the most popular social sites:
- Facebook = 91% of brands
- Twitter = 85% of brands
- YouTube = 73% of brands
- Pinterest = 41% of brands
- LinkedIn = 33% of brands
- Blogs = 32% of brands
- Instagram = 29% of brands
- Google+ = 26% of brands
The data gets more interesting when you look at where brands are spending digital budgets. Nearly 75% of brand digital budgets are being spent on display advertising, search, and producing video. Only 10% is spent on social, and that includes influencer outreach. Breaking the social spending down further, more than half goes to Facebook while YouTube and Twitter each get 13%. Only 6% is spent on influencer outreach, and just 5% is spent on blog advertising.
Considering that consumers surveyed in this study cited blogs as the third most likely online service to influence their purchase decisions (behind brand sites and retail sites but above Facebook, YouTube, and all other social sites), it’s evident that brands are missing a significant opportunity to connect with consumers when they’re making purchase decisions.
When asked where brands planned to increase spending in 2013, 59% plan to increase social advertising and video spending while fewer brands plan to increase search, display advertising, and programmatic buys (37%, 31%, and 21%, respectively). The big winner in terms of higher budget in 2013 will be mobile, which 79% of brands plan to increase.
However, there is more to the data than the percentage of brands that plan to increase budgets in specific channels and areas. While most brands plan to increase mobile ad spending, the actual dollar amount increase for mobile is expected to be just 37% versus 73% for display and 52% for search. Like mobile, social spending will also increase by just 37% when you look at actual dollars being spent. Video spending will increase by 30% and programmatic buys will increase by only 17%.
So while the world is becoming more and more mobile and people are spending more time on social sites and blogs than ever, traditional display advertising is still the primary focus for brand marketers. What do you think? Missed opportunities?
Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
