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What could be considered some positive news to have emerged from the prolonged, depressed national economy is the boost some marketing pros expect to see in the growth of digital marketing.

This is but one of the observations that came to light in the recently released “2010 Digital Marketing Outlook” report from the Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA). SoDA last year teamed with CMO.com to survey more than 1,000 senior marketing executives—from traditional and digital shops, as well as their clients—to gauge their investment plans.

Roughly two-thirds believe current economic challenges will increase their use of digital marketing during the next 12 months, according to the report (see related chart).

“Among the worst headlines of 2009, digital has continued to revolutionize and prosper,” said SoDA chairman Richard Lent, in the report. “Facebook and other social networks connect hundreds of millions of users daily, over two billion apps have been downloaded from the Apple App Store in its inaugural year, and global mobile usage has reached an astonishing 4.1 billion handsets and counting.”

The challenge for CMOs is to keep pace with consumer preferences. That’s where life gets both tricky and interesting, according to the survey, given the multitude of channels that can carry a message.  But the survey made clear that across all customer demographics is the very human desire to connect.  “Consumers are more connected to brands and each other than they ever have been before,” said Ian Shafer, CEO of Deep Focus, a marketing firm and SoDA member.

In that regard, digital is the only platform that can fulfill that social need anytime, anywhere, and in the most interactive and targeted of ways. Most of the marketers who participated in the SoDA study recognize that, and anticipate an increase in the number of digital projects they take on this year. For brand marketers, that’s especially true (see related chart). 

In the not-too-distant background, however, is another reality: the marketing budget. The money for these new digital projects clearly has to come from somewhere. For 50% of SoDA survey participants, that somewhere will be at the expense of their traditional media projects. They indicate that digital infrastructure, digital advertising, and social networks will lead their investment priorities, though SEO and email marketing are not too far behind (see related chart). 

What else does 2010 have in store for online marketing spending? Continue on through the pages that follow for a snapshot look at many marketers’ top digital priorities, whether hiring is part of their investment plans (along with what skill sets are most in-demand), and which advertising performance metrics matter most.

A PDF of the entire report is also available for free download here.  

More "Digital Marketing 2010" special report articles.