SIIA released its second annual survey of leading marketing executives today.  For its “Marketing Industry Report,” we asked executives a series of questions about their company’s use of social media and mobile marketing.  The results provide an interesting and useful snapshot of how today’s businesses are incorporating leading tech platforms, specifically social media and mobile, into their marketing programs.

The results show that technology is playing a significant – and in many cases, growing – role in corporate marketing.  And while nearly all companies have embraced social media marketing, other platforms, especially mobile, have only limited appeal for digital marketers.  The results also show that most executives have yet to invest significant resources in their digital marketing efforts – though many appear ready to increase their commitment of both time and money.

Below are key findings from the survey, which will be explored in-depth during an SIIA webinar on February 27.

Social Marketing Now Universal

This year’s survey finds a significant jump in the number of executives who say their company is using social media as a marketing platform.  Only 2 percent of respondents now say they are not using social media for marketing – a figure that stood at 11 percent a year ago.  This year’s survey also shows that 69 percent of executives say that social media is having a positive impact on their business – a slight decline from last year, in which just over 74 percent felt a positive impact.

And while the results show that nearly all businesses are now using social media marketing, they also indicate that the amount of time companies are dedicating to social media marketing has remained about the same.  This year’s results track closely with the previous year, with the exception that slightly more executives say their teams spend one to 10 hours per week on social media marketing (66 percent in 2013 survey versus 54.5 percent in the 2012 report).  The increase at the lower end of the time range is likely because more companies are using social media marketing, and new entrants tend to begin with a more limited engagement.

Executives clearly expect a greater commitment to social media in the future – 58 percent say they plan to spend more on social media marketing in the year ahead.  And while 30 percent of executives think that social media is adding to their marketing costs, an increasing number say it is reducing marketing costs (7 percent in 2013 survey, versus 4.7 percent in 2012).

With nearly all companies now using social media, it’s clear that the business community sees conclusive marketing value in these channels. The fairly stagnant time of use data suggests that companies are treadling lightly when it comes to their current social marketing commitment. But even with that, all signs point to more time and money being invested in social marketing in the years to come.

Mobile Marketing Impactful, But Usage Lags

At the same time that social media marketing is advancing, business use of mobile marketing continues to lag.  Only 25 percent of the companies surveyed are using mobile marketing – a slight drop from the 2012 survey, in which 29 percent said they are using mobile marketing.  Of the companies using mobile marketing, nearly half say that the mobile solution they offer is being used by 5 percent or less of their customers.  Given the low usage rates, it makes sense that more companies are not jumping into mobile marketing.

Still, even with low usage, executives believe that mobile marketing is having an impact.  One-third of executives in this year’s survey say that mobile marketing has changed the relationship with their customers, with 16 percent saying that product usage has increased.

This year’s survey also shows a significant drop in the number of companies targeting the Blackberry platform in their mobile marketing efforts.  Those targeting iOS, Windows and Android platforms remained largely the same between 2012 and 2013, however those targeting Blackberry dropped from 22 percent in the 2012 survey, to just 12 percent this year.

Mobile is unquestionably changing the way people live and work, but has yet to significantly change the way companies market. For the second year in a row we find limited use of mobile marketing and little indication that will change in the immediate future.  That said, there is a strong positive sign in the fact that a large percent of those using mobile are getting results.  More evidence of positive results, combined with expanding smartphone penetration and technological developments, should fuel mobile marketing growth in the years ahead.

The 2013 survey, which was conducted between October and December 2012, mirrors a survey SIIA conducted during a similar time period in 2011.  It asked questions of over 100 marketing executives who work for companies ranging in size, including those employing 1 to 99 people (65 percent), those employing between 100 and 999 (25 percent) and those employing over 1000 people (10 percent).

Rhianna Collier is VP for the Software Division at SIIA. Follow the Software team on Twitter at @SIIASoftware.