Budgets on the rise for Social Media but …

Jul
8

I wonder what exactly that budget will be spent on.

Today, Mashable highlighted a Forrester report that forecasts budget spend in social media to “grow at an annual rate of 34 percent – faster than any other form of online marketing and double the average growth rate of 17 percent for all online mediums.”

The report doesn’t go into specifics on what exactly that money will be spent on; and whether the investment will be used to talk AT the conversation, IN the conversation, or both.

Talking at the conversation is basically a media buy aimed at social media channels (i.e. Federated Media or social ads in Facebook). In this case, budget would be spent in a more traditional sense – CPM, creative and CPC in some cases.

Talking in the conversation requires human capital. In other words, hiring community managers, training them properly and empowering them to engage online is where the substantial investment would go. In my opinion, talking IN the conversation exemplifies the true essence of social media; and Twitter is a great tool that facilitates that dialogue.

Talking at the conversation should not be discounted though. Buying media in Facebook that will drive traffic to a Fan Page where community managers are ready and waiting to engage would be ideal.

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Author: Michael Brito

Michael Brito is a Vice President of Social Media at Edelman Digital. All thoughts and opinions on this blog are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of his employer or clients; neither past or present.

Mia

Great post! As you pointed out, it doesn't say what it's going to be spent on and if it's just media buy, I don't think it's as significant as spending on the community, human capital, training, etc.
Also, percentages make great headlines but are misleading in that traditional mature channels will always have lower percentage growth than a new channel so I would like to see actual dollars allocated and increase in share of total budget. Cheers!

stuartnoton

Great comment on the 'In vs At'...

Mia - Agreed! The numbers aren't complete. Also, I'm very wary of these sorts of trend reports, particularly one that purports to look so far into the future. How can any business predict how much more they will spend/invest into a specific channel in five years time, particularly given the current economic turbulence? They might PLAN to spend more, but will they actually when the time comes? What new options will arise next year; what new legislation will be in place? All this highlights is that a lot of businesses will be waiting before employing social media marketing tactics - possibly delaying to mitigate risk before jumping in!

Dan Ward

I like your in/at distinction. I'm more inclined to think talking IN has more impact, but I'm sure there's some value in the AT as well...

And at a recent SM conference, I was a little surprised by the presenters who talked about spending lots of money on some of this stuff. The people who talked about a team of three who had $500 total made a lot more sense...

home business leads

People are using all types of Social Networks to self-publish, share, connect, reconnect and establish an array of communities. This is both happens to personal and professional.

MLM New Method

All this highlights is that a lot of businesses will be waiting before employing social media marketing tactics - possibly delaying to mitigate risk before jumping in!