Brafton has reported that 81 percent of CMOs expect social investments to return revenues this year, and a new study from The CMO Survey indicates that chief marketing officers are optimistic about more than their social ROIs this year (though they do plan on investing more heavily in the social space).

Brafton has reported that 81 percent of CMOs expect social investments to return revenues this year, and a new study from The CMO Survey indicates that chief marketing officers are optimistic about more than their social ROIs this year (though they do plan on investing more heavily in the social space).

The survey, conducted by Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and the American Marketing Association, asked 3,378 top marketing executives about their companies' expected performances and marketing plans for 2011. Overall, CMOs expect higher customer purchase volumes, more new clients and better customer retention this year. This coincides with plans to increase advertising efforts.

Social media spending in particular was highlighted as an upward trend in the marketing community. The survey found that social media accounts for 6 percent of overall marketing budgets, and that amount is expected to triple to at least 18 percent within the next five years.

“The growth in social media marketing will be exponential. Smaller companies – with revenues under $25 million – in particular will increasingly rely on social media outlets to market their products and services,” said said Christine Moorman, Fuqua professor and director of the survey.

Nonetheless, CMOs say they are still working to integrate social media with their other marketing strategies. Only 11 percent of respondents believe their companies are “very effective” in using social media as part of a comprehensive marketing strategy.

Brands might find that using social channels to distribute original content they offer elsewhere on the web is one way to unite their internet marketing campaigns. Moreover, social content is poised to be a competitive necessity this year, with Brafton reporting that 73 percent of businesses with social marketing campaigns seed social sites with custom content.

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.