With any inbound marketing strategy, customer outreach must focus on multiple channels; and, as we move further into 2013, well-developed cross-channel targeting will become even more important. However, how do we know where to focus our marketing efforts in 2013? Luckily, the great minds at StrongMail, an email marketing and cross-channel solutions company, did a little digging for us!

In conjunction with SurveyMonkey, StrongMail, administered an online poll to learn how more than 1,000 business leaders saw their marketing strategies changing in 2013.

Expansion of Digital Marketing in 2013

Indicate the Marketing Programs You Plan to Increase Spending for in 2013

Based on the survey results, business leaders across various industries plan to have even more digitally heavy marketing strategies during 2013. Responders reported that they expected to increase spending on Email Marketing (55.5%), Social Media (51.8%), Mobile (42.8%), and SEO/PPC (39.8%) this year. In comparison, only 27.4% of responders thought they would decrease spending on Direct Mail efforts.

There is a strong focus on multiple channel growth, with 46.2% of responders expecting to spend more money on their email marketing campaigns this year, with the specific goal of growing their social media presence. In addition, 51.9% of marketers reported that they plan to integrate email marketing into their mobile strategy, and 19.1% expect to integrate it into their search efforts.

Social Media Marketing in 2013

Moving forward into 2013, marketers will be allocating more efforts towards managing and understanding social media for their businesses.

• 26.5% of responders plan on increasing spending on social media management technology
• 18% would like to focus on appending the social data they have into a customer database
• 14.8% plan to invest in social media listening platforms

Most Important Social Media Platforms 2013 (1 highest 8 lowest)

Not only are companies looking to invest in tools to manage social media, they are also planning to invest in the training and education of their employees on social media best practices.

Furthermore, during 2013 marketers plan to increase spending on Facebook (39.6%), Twitter (23.3%), and Pinterest (14.9%) marketing programs. While businesses plan to invest in Pinterest in 2013, they do not rank it as one of the top five most valuable social media platforms. Based on responses, marketers view Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as the most important and social media platforms that provide the most value to their businesses. In comparison, Pinterest, Instagram, and Yelp are currently viewed as providing the least amount of value.

At the same time, the definition of the value the social media brings to a business has changed. Marketers said that social media provides value through:

• Building awareness
• Growing customer loyalty and retention
• Expanding reach to a new audience

An interesting outcome from the survey is that responders listed the previous three items as the primary values their businesses receive from mobile marketing efforts; while driving revenue was reported as one of the top three values businesses receive from email marketing.

Social media, email marketing, and mobile hold the highest priority in marketing strategies during 2013. Furthermore, marketers and businesses understand increasingly the importance of developing cross-channel strategies that will integrate both offline and online efforts. For more information on what marketers are planning for 2013, check out the full StrongMail 2013 Marketing Trends Survey Report.
By Brianna Smith