Social media 'becoming popular among marketers'

29th May 2008

Marketing professionals are increasingly spending their budgets on interactive platforms such as viral marketing and social media, new research shows.

According to a recent survey carried out by the Online Marketing and Media Show (OMMS), marketers are no longer focusing their attention on traditional banner advertising but are spending more money on search, email and pay-per-click.

The study also revealed that over a third of all respondents plan to spend up to 25 per cent of their marketing budgets on online marketing and media this year - a 15 per cent increase from the predicted spend in 2007.

Some 75 per cent of marketers generate more accountable return on investment from their online marketing and media activity than with more traditional marketing tools, the findings also showed.

"As the industry starts seeing improved measurement tools in place for social media, marketers will begin experimenting and investing more online," commented Sally Maltby, event director for OMMS.

MySpace received 73.8 per cent of the market share of US visits to social networks this month, according to figures from Hitwise.