At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), we introduced content about executive blogging on our Web site a few years back, yet there was limited client interest. And even more limited budgets allocated to fund social media-related programs.
That changed in the spring of 2007...big time! Social media is by far the fastest growing segment of our business. We are fortunate to be working with a set of innovative companies - such as British Telecom (BT), GovDelivery, Epok, TARP and Voxant -- to execute campaigns that include a social media component.
We believe social media work will represent 70 percent of our business this time next year. However, according to the findings of the recent Epsilon CMO survey we may need to be even more bullish in our projections.
Based on interviews with 175 senior marketing leaders in the US, the survey organizers reported that nearly two-thirds said their interactive/digital marketing budgets have increased in the past year. The more popular interactive and digital channels that marketers said they are keen to start experimenting with are:
-social computing (42%), which includes word-of-mouth, social-networking sites and viral advertising
-blogs (35%)
-podcasting (31%)
-mobile devices (29%), which include phones and PDAs
The take-away for public relations professionals is clear: by continuing to enhance our expertise in social media we can provide a greater return on a PR investment, as well as foster a deeper connection with the marketing organization.
CMOs Up Digital, Cut Traditional