Useful Social Media's State of Corporate Social Media in 2011 reveals that social marketing budgets are on the rise. Eighty-eight percent of U.S. marketers say they will be increasing their social media budgets this year.
Nearly one-third (29 percent) are increasing their budgets by more than 100 percent. Another 19 percent are increasing social spend by between 25 percent and 50 percent.
All of the U.S. respondents agree that social media marketing is becoming core to their overall campaigning, and 100 percent indicate that they are using social media for some type of marketing outreach this year.
The study suggests that many American businesses are outsourcing their social media marketing. The State of Corporate Social Media in 2011 concludes that U.S. businesses are less likely to devote internal resources to social media than their European counterparts, with 46 percent of American respondents saying they work with outside organizations on social marketing.
Brafton has also report that social media outsourcing plans have doubled this year compared to 2010. Working with outside companies that offer custom analytics can also help give brands an edge – more than half of U.S. marketers surveyed by Useful Social Media say they don't currently measure their social ROI.
