Gartner: Corporate Web site for the most important marketing carrier hyper-social network

A new survey by Gartner on US marketers shows that building a corporate web site is the most important digital marketing activity in the process of achieving successful marketing, surpassing social media marketing, according to the March 13 news of Beijing time. But social media marketing is still ranked 2nd, tied to online advertising.

The survey, which took place from November 2012 to December, was attended by more than 250 U.S. corporate marketers with annual revenues of more than 500 million dollars. The survey covers 6 industries, including financial services and insurance, high technology, manufacturing, media, retail and healthcare.

In the survey, 45% of respondents said that the design, development and maintenance of corporate websites were important for successful marketing. 43% of respondents mentioned social media marketing on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. The proportion of respondents to digital/online advertising was also 43%. The survey required marketers to list the types of marketing activities of importance 1th to 3rd, and based on this, the overall proportion was obtained. For the 1th-ranked marketing campaign, the number of respondents to the corporate web site and to online advertising was 18%, compared with 6% of respondents who considered social media marketing.

The results show that corporate websites still play a key role in the corporate marketing process, but social media are playing an increasingly important role. It is worth pointing out that marketers are still less prioritized in mobile marketing, with only 24% of respondents referring to this marketing approach. But the respondents to the company's blog were lower, only 6%.

"The findings suggest that corporate websites will not be replaced by the corporate brand's social media activities in the short term," said Bill Gassman, Gartner's marketing director, Bill Geisman. ”

But the development of social media also poses challenges for marketers who need to make sure that content is boring but hugely valuable. Geisman said marketers need to invest, analyze and optimize corporate Web sites through network analysis and testing services, and focus on all aspects of the site, including customized landing pages, and content that attracts users to interact with the brand.

Corporate websites are critical to the company's image and reputation. In general, corporate Web sites can reflect the professionalism of the enterprise, while the Facebook marketing page will bring user participation, to attract user support.

According to another survey, most respondents spent 10% to 50% of their marketing budgets on digital marketing campaigns, compared with an average of 25%. While digital-marketing spending typically accounts for only 2.5% of corporate revenue, the share of 2013 will rise. The survey showed that in 2012, marketers had 12.5% of digital marketing budgets for digital advertising, 9.4% for social media marketing and 7.4% for mobile marketing.

According to the survey, for the new marketing budget of 2013, the top priority for marketers is to enhance their business experience, social media and mobile marketing, and content production and management.