Ad Blitz: 52% of Singapore companies raising their marketing spend

And Twitter just pushed LinkedIn out of second spot as preferred choice.

GetIT Comms and the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation announced the results of their annual State of Marketing Singapore Industry Report 2011. Based on a survey conducted to determine preferred marketing platforms and methods, the report revealed that the majority of survey respondents (52%) have seen an increase in their overall marketing budgets for 2011. The increase is largely driven by new media initiatives with 66% of all respondents attesting that their marketing budgets for social and interactive digital media have increased as compared to last year.

“From the budget distribution and social media marketing effectiveness standpoint, this year’s results continue to indicate that most respondents comprehend the changing marketing landscape and are willing to commit higher budgets for social and interactive digital media. A whopping 83% of the survey respondents agreed that social media is effective for marketing. In addition to brand and product awareness, social media marketing is now also being looked at as the ideal platform for lead/demand generation, lead nurturing and showcasing thought leadership – a very exciting prospect for marketers,” said Anol Bhattacharya, Director and CEO, GetIT Comms.

Key survey findings include:

• 52% of respondents said that their marketing budgets have increased in 2011 as opposed to 43% in 2010.

• Close to 66% of respondents attest that their marketing budgets for social and interactive digital media have increased as opposed to 43% in 2010.

• A significant amount of respondents (83%) said that their web presence is primarily aimed at providing information and news about the company.

• It is noteworthy, however, that almost 70% of companies also leverage their web presence for sales generation.

•  Social media continues to be a key driver for this change indicating that a majority of companies have embraced progressive uses for their web presence and are keen on getting more value from it.

• This year’s top social media channels are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

• Facebook still reigns supreme in Singapore with 65% reporting that they are primarily active on it. The results also indicate an almost 23% growth for the social media giant compared to last year.

• Twitter (42%) has snatched second place from LinkedIn and blogs.

•  With video becoming a stronger platform in light of the improving quality of internet speed and access, YouTube has jumped to third place with 38%.

• Usage of blogs as a medium stands at 34%.

• 10% fewer people are reporting that they are not using social media as opposed to 2010.

• Leading uses of social media include lead generation (43%), brand awareness (63%), product awareness (57%), customer engagement (42%) and thought leadership (25%).

• The figures increase somewhat proportionately for social media use in the next 6-12 months, with lead generation and customer engagement spiking to 61%.

• A significant improvement from last year, 83% of respondents say they agree or strongly agree that social media is effective for marketing.

• Only 2% say they see no value in it.

• 77% of respondents reported that they manage social media efforts in-house.

• 15% of companies outsource aspects of their social media marketing.

• A good number of respondents (63%) say that they use social media for 2 hours or more each week and an additional 31% use it for more than 5 hours a week.

• This signifies a keen and sustained commitment to social networking and maintaining a social presence.

• 64% of survey respondents attested to using search engine marketing or SEM.

• The search engine platform of choice is Google Adwords.

• 32% of survey respondents reported an increase in print, advertising and broadcast budgets as opposed to just 20% last year.

• Even as marketing efforts are being diverted towards social media channels and interactive digital media, traditional channels are still holding their own and remain quite relevant.

• 31% of respondents reported an increase in trade show budgets while 32% reported an increase for public relations budgets.