Upswing in Singapore’s marketing budgets, says survey

So says the annual State of Marketing Singapore Industry Report 2011, recently released by GetIT Comms and the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF).

Based on a survey conducted to determine preferred marketing platforms and methods, the report revealed that the majority of survey respondents, 52 per cent, have seen an increase in their overall marketing budgets for 2011.

The increase is largely driven by new media initiatives, with 66 per cent of all respondents attesting that their marketing budgets for social and interactive digital media have increased as compared to last year.

Anol Bhattacharya, director and CEO, GetIT Comms, said that 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.

83 per cent of 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 Bhattacharya.

Other key survey findings include:

83 per cent of respondents said that their web presence was primarily aimed at providing information and news about the company. But almost 70 per cent 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 presences and are keen on getting more value from them.

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

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

At 42 per cent, Twitter 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 per cent.

Usage of blogs as a medium stands at 34 per cent.

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

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

77 per cent of respondents reported that they manage social media efforts in-house. 15 per cent of companies outsource aspects of their social media marketing. 64 per cent of survey respondents attested to using search engine marketing (SEM). The search engine platform of choice is Google Adwords.

The complete survey report can be downloaded for free