This poll analysis was written by Jeremy Victor, editor-in-chief of B2Bbloggers.com. For more of his writing, visit B2Bbloggers.com and follow him on Twitter or Google+.
SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Social Media — tracks feedback from leading marketers about social media practices and issues.
Our poll this week: For 2012, what do you plan to do with your social media budget? The results:
- Increase: 56.67%
- Stay the same: 36.67%
- Decrease: 6.67%
What a resounding vote of affirmation for social media and its growing place of permanence in our budgets and businesses. If we are learning anything about social media, it is that being successful requires an investment of both time and resources. And more than 93% of you are investing more or staying the course this coming year as you strive to generate greater benefits from being social.
For those decreasing your investment, I understand that too. As we know, while many of the tools of social media don’t cost any money, there are both hard costs, such as time spent, and opportunity costs associated with social media. When times are tight, if you can’t go all in, the best decision may be to scale back and only bite off what you can chew.
For a further look at 2012’s budget trends (in social media and beyond), enjoy this digital-marketing infographic from 6S Marketing. Click the image to view it at full size.
How are you allocating your 2012 social media budgets? How will you be shifting your resources between various social media platforms?
Image credit: 6S Marketing