According to the Forbes "Ad Effectiveness Survey," 54% of marketers who spend in excess of $1 million on digital expect to spend more on viral marketing, while 50% expect to spend more on SEO. This same group will decrease spending on ad networks by 52%.
I'd love to know what their expectations are for "viral." The jump in SEO spending with the corresponding decrease for ad networks suggests an increased emphasis on click efficiency. So what is viral's role in the mix? Do marketers expect it to drive additional clicks, or do they hope it will be a less expensive way to drive branding? Viral is not a strategy, so I'm curious about the intent. What do you think?