Is there something wrong with this picture? New research shows that while an overwhelming percentage of marketing executives use social media and believe in its power to help their businesses, most dedicate little in the way of human and financial resources to advance the effort.
According to a study of 106 marketing executives in North American technology companies conducted by Lopez Research for the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA):
- Ninety percent of marketing executives use social media;
- Seventy-five percent believe it has a positive effect on business;
- Nearly 90 percent spend less than 10 hours a week on social media efforts.
"It is remarkable to see that, despite their strong belief in the power of social media, over one-third of marketers are engaged in it for only five hours or fewer every week," said Rhianna Collier, vice president of SIIA's Software Division, in a press release.
The SIIA, which serves the software and digital content industries, found that marketers are looking ahead to increasing their social media investments as they get a better handle on return on investment (ROI).
"Social media is still a relatively new method for growing a business, but marketers clearly believe it is has value and will require greater investment," said Ms. Collier. "With more marketers now applying traditional ROI metrics — such as qualified leads — to their social media efforts, they are more likely to get a clear sense of what level of investment makes sense."