BlogSocial Media Marketing | Content Marketing

CMO’s! What Percentage of Marketing Budget Are You Spending on Content Creation?

By Rajesh Jhamb
September 12, 2017

So, have you thought it out and mulled it over as to how much of your marketing budget should be kept aside solely for content creation marketing? If you believe you are a small or a mid-sized business, you may want to answer in the affirmative and say – quite a considerable amount. A survey steered by GetResponse showed that out of 10 small and midsized businesses, seven wholeheartedly agreed that their digital marketing budgets were sure to be on the rise, around 30% mentioned that they expected their budgets to scale up significantly. While just 28 percent maintained that they would go for status quo, only 2 percent are looking at reducing their content creation marketing budgets. As content marketing grows unhindered and gains popularity with each enhanced strategy, more business leaders are committing at least a chunk of their marketing budget to the conception, delivery and monitoring of custom content. Another survey that catered to almost 300 marketing leaders all over U.K. and the U.S showcased how the organizations are striving to enhance both their short-term as well as long-term goals with their increased spending in digital marketing. But what are the reasons for the unprecedented growth in content creation marketing? There are several that need to be put forth:

The cost is far lesser than most traditional marketing methods.
Small and mid-sized companies can use their capabilities better and more effectively on a digital canvas. With the right SEO and SEM strategies, the territory could be owned quite well.
The implementation is quicker and can take shape in just minutes.
Changes can be made quickly. Ads that are not up to the mark or not working too well can be changed with immediate effect and feedback can also be garnered very quickly.
Measures like pay-per-click ads and search engine marketing are quantifiable and measurable. They present themselves in a simple way and the viewers’ actions can be tracked easily.
Content creation technologies coupled with automation are bringing together the most efficacious marketing strategies to deliver better outcomes.

#1. The muscle power of Content Creation Marketing One look at the illustration below and the truth reveals itself! The powers that be spent significantly more on the organizations’ websites, digital advertising and e-commerce than on other traditional media such as TV, radio and print advertising. The spends on the content marketing services pointedly show that these investments have become top of mind priorities. #2. The largest chunk is reserved for the websites Around 9% of their marketing budgets are devotedly spent on websites, according to a survey. When it came to media and entertainment companies, the spending went up to almost 14%. With the intent of engaging the user, websites are being reinvented and refurbished to make sure that the content is appealing, responsive and even customized to make an impact and get the user to visit them again. #3. Advertising is on the way up Unending debates about blocking of ads did not deter a lot of marketers from increasing the spends on digital advertising. Almost 65% of CMOs mentioned that they intended to increase their spends on advertising. They truly believe that there is a decline of organic social and a visible rise in paid social. Also, there is a steady shift of offline media spending leading to digital advertising. The video is also very high on importance, where digital advertising is concerned. #4. Digital commerce is pivotal The spends on digital commerce have reached up to 8% of the total budgets. With 9% spends for B2C marketing leaders, it was a tad higher than B2B marketers which stood at 7%. With an eye on the end user and the desire to connect directly with the consumer, digital spending lends itself to enhancing customer insights and leads to improved brand loyalty. That brings us to the next important question – which social media needs the most attention? Even if studies do not present any direct answers or valuations, there are some significant empirical trends that need to be looked at.

Facebook was reigning and will continue to reign supreme with almost 90% of social media users active on this platform.
Instagram from 32% penetration might almost reach 47% by 2020.
Pinterest along with Twitter might go up to 33% by 2020.
There is an expected increase of about 75% in Google Adwords in the coming year.
Snapchat, which is the new kid on the block also expects to see a rise in investments in the year ahead.
Marketers can make their choices basis the data presented or predicted and go for Facebook and Instagram for their marketing needs.

So how do the CMOS or marketing leaders decide the marketing budgets Digging deeper into a survey revealed some strategic factors that could help with deciding the marketing budgets and its allocation to various aspects. #1. Marketing is the function that leads the way As a function, marketing is looked at to lead revenue growth. This is the scenario with 38.4 percent of companies, as per the CMO Survey. The aforesaid companies allocate larger marketing budgets as compared to their peers or competitors. This also leads to the marketing function’s capacity to look at corporate strategy differently and immensely improve the marketing budgets. #2. Social media and its performance Marketers were questioned about the efficacy of social media’s contribution to their company. And the answer that came about was that getting a return on social media investments led to larger marketing budgets. #3. Content marketing strategy Content creation’s more strategic, customer-driven focus helps in ensuring that the undertakings are not just short-term or tactical. With the given budgets and content creation tools, acquisition and retention of the most valuable customers for the long run can be achieved. And what has the allocation of the budgets been like over the years? A report from Forrester Research highlights how the marketing spends have been taken care of be it offline or online and across various digital channels.

From an average of around 30% of their marketing budget to online, most firms are looking at growing to 35% by 2019
Search engine marketing will get a huge chunk of online spends with the second spot being accorded to online display (online videos, banner ads, remarketing, retargeting etc.)
Investments in social media will not ebb in a hurry, but will just denote about 15% of the total online spend
Mobile marketing is huge in its own right and is hardly tracked in the prediction but it falls in the consideration set across all channels

All in all, it can be safely concluded that while saving money is paramount and of immense importance, the significance of making money cannot be lost either. Finding the right balance will lead to happy marketers and happier balance sheets. When it is more than evident that there are hordes of people clicking away to buy a product, it’s foolhardy to argue that the medium does not require the adequate attention it deserves.

BlogSocial Media Marketing | Content Marketing

CMO’s! What Percentage of Marketing Budget Are You Spending on Content Creation?

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