CMO Survey: Marketers Set to Increase Social and Mobile Budgets

As the number of online users turning to their mobile devices to access the web continues to grow, research shows that marketers are adjusting their strategies accordingly by devoting more of their budgets to social and mobile.

“The CMO Survey” conducted by the Duke Fuqua School of Business shows that marketers will spend 15.6 percent of their budgets on mobile marketing over the next three years. If this projection holds true, it would represent an increase of approximately 160 percent, as marketers currently devote just 6 percent of their budgets toward mobile.

In addition to mobile, marketers are also projected to boost their investment in social media. At the moment, social media spending accounts for 10.7 percent of marketing budgets. This is predicted to increase to 23.8 percent within the next five years.

“The integration of social media and marketing strategies is finally showing a slight lift after years of stagnation,” said Christine Moorman, a professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and director of The CMO Survey.

A Look Back at Last Year’s Results

Last year, The CMO Survey showed that marketers were spending 9.4 percent of their budget on social media. The 10.7 percent documented in this year’s survey reflects a slight increase in investment.

At the time of the 2014 survey, marketers expected their investment in social media to rise to 13.2 percent. However, 45 percent of respondents said they had not been able to show the impact of social media at their companies just yet.

Screenshots taken from CMO Survey Report.