It’s no mystery that companies are shifting advertising dollars to digital. But how much money are they moving and where are they putting it?
The answer to that question depends on the company size.
That’s based on a study conducted by my company, Ignite Visibility, which you can download in full here.
According to the survey of 300 marketers, smaller businesses focus on social media marketing while larger firms concentrate on email marketing.
The biggest businesses distribute their digital ad spend evenly across all channels.
The study also revealed some startling statistics, which I’ll share with you below.
The Smallest Businesses Love Social Media
Businesses that earn less than $1 million annually in revenue prefer to invest in social media.
Why? Probably because it’s the most affordable type of digital marketing. That makes it a great starting point for companies on a shoestring budget.
Unfortunately, those companies also lack the resources to invest in digital marketing research. According to the survey, 63% of respondents in this group didn’t know their conversion rate for each channel.
Small businesses also plan to invest in content marketing. That’s another inexpensive digital strategy.
Respondents also said that their business is too small to afford to hire an agency to assist with online marketing.
Businesses Between $1 Million and $5 Million Go for SEO
Businesses at this level are starting to take an interest in using agencies.
The highest percentage of respondents in this group (21%) said that they’ll invest the most in SEO. However, 35% said that they plan to spend less than $2,000 on optimization efforts.
Only 6% of marketers in this group said they had no idea where their conversions were coming from over the past year.
Those who did know said that most of their conversions (42%) come from social media.
Businesses Between $5 Million and $10 Million Like PPC
Businesses that earn between $5 million and $10 million in revenue each year opt for online advertising.
More than a third (36%) said they’ll invest the most in digital ads. That’s followed by email marketing (27%).
Only 4.5% said they plan to invest in all marketing channels.
Also, companies at this level are far more likely to use agencies. Almost three-quarters (73%) of respondents plan on outsourcing their digital strategy.
Half of those surveyed said they’ll spend between $5,000 and $15,000 on paid media.
All marketers in this group said they knew which channel had the highest ROI.
Businesses Between $10 and $20 Million Prefer Email Marketing
Marketers who work with businesses that earn between $10 million and $20 million annually choose email as their preferred channel.
Almost a third (31%) said that they’ll invest the most in email marketing – and they’ll spend between $5,000 and $15,000 on it.
Surprisingly, 15% of those surveyed in this group have no idea where their conversions are coming from.
Those who did know where their conversions were coming from said that most of their conversions (31%) were from email marketing.
Businesses Between $20 Million and $50 Million Are More Balanced
Businesses that earn between $20 million and $50 million every year prefer a comprehensive digital strategy.
Forty percent said they’re investing in all marketing channels.
In fact, they plan to invest evenly in SEO, email marketing, online advertising, and conversion rate optimization.
Only 10% plan to invest in social media.
All the marketers in this group knew where their conversions were coming from.
Business Over $50 Million Also Invest Evenly Among All Channels
Businesses that earn more than $50 million annually take an approach similar to those earning between $20 million and $50 million.
Forty-three percent said that they invest evenly in all channels. Their spend is split evenly between SEO, email marketing, and online advertising.
Companies at this level didn’t invest a whole lot in CRO.
In this group, 14% of marketers had no idea where their conversions were coming from.
The same number didn’t know which channel had the highest ROI.
Wrapping It Up
It’s clear: as businesses grow in revenue, they change their digital strategy.
Small businesses often start with a low-cost social media approach. As they earn more income, they graduate to SEO and PPC.
Eventually, they focus on email marketing.
The biggest companies choose an approach that includes numerous channels.
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