The sixth annual PRWeek/Manning Selvage & Lee (MS&L) survey by Millward Brown polled 252 U.S. chief marketing officers, VPs of marketing and marketing directors and managers, focused on digital and consumer generated media, marketing ethics and the role of public relations in the marketing mix.     

Their findings show that despite weakened economic conditions over 75% of senior marketers expect spending for new media and online initiatives to increase in the next year.

The one thing marketers overwhelmingly agree on is that they would “most likely” cut from other disciplines before turning to digital if forced to scale back budgets as a result of poor economic conditions in this order. 

·         Advertising (35%)

·         Point-of-sale marketing (29%)

·         Public relations (16%)

·         Direct marketing (16%)

·         Digital (4%)

CGM is the marketing discipline seen as the top priority over the next 6-12 months by nearly three in ten (28%) despite its relative newness. Marketers view CGM as a tool for supporting brand and reputation:

• CGM is important for creating brand awareness (68%)

• Building brands (64%)

• Being perceived as an innovator (60%)

•  43% say CGM ties to ROI and is important to sales

If you've been wondering how to figure out what content works and what you could write about to attract visitors to your site, try digging into your analytics program.

Every website should have at least a basic analytics package from your host, but if you really want to get in-depth competitive intelligence from your log files, try something like HitWise.

I chatted with Heather Dougherty, Director of Research for the US for HitWise last week about her upcoming panel at Search Engine Strategies in San Jose in August.

You can hear the interview here.  (Be patient while it downloads)

She made some great points about using analytics to track your online reputation, find out how people talk about your company and your products, what language they use when they search and where they go before and after they visit your site.

SES San Jose is just around the corner now.  I'll be there from August 18 - 20. I love meeting my readers at conferences, so stop by my session on storyteller marketing on Monday the 18th after lunch.

I am all set to take off for BlogHer tomorrow.  Mary, Tia and I will be there to blog about the sessions we attend and interview some of the prsernters and attendees.

We'd be delighted if you'd say Hello..  Perhaps we'll bump into you at the speed dating or the networking times. 

We love to meet the bloggers that we talk to by phone and email. And of course, many of you we have not yet met at all.

So we're excited about BlogHer and the weekend promises to be a lot of fun.

See you  there.

The workshop covers:

● How to keep your social media program accountable
● How to set measurable goals
● How to monitor and evaluate your reputation in social media
● How to identify and track top blogs and other important influencers
● How to acquire an arsenal of essential social media tools
● How to harness the power of blogs and podcasts--yours and those of others
● How to develop an online social media newsroom to distribute your news
● How to get off the sidelines: Learn to take part in the social media conversation

The workshop classroom for The Social Media Bootcamp for PR Professionals will be a Wi-Fi environment, so attendees are encouraged to bring their own laptops.