The FINANCIAL -- The mobile and social marketing spheres are moving fast, and marketers are doing their best to keep up. 

That’s one of the findings of IBM’s May 2012 survey of marketing professionals worldwide, “The State of Marketing 2012.”

The continued fracturing of the media landscape has made it increasingly difficult for marketers to reach customers in large numbers. The poll found that the largest percentage of respondents, 41%, named the growth of marketing channels and devices as the top challenge to their company over the next few years. The second-most commonly cited challenge, named by one-third of respondents, was customer collaboration and influence, followed by financial constraints and determining return on investment.

To stay in front of customers, marketers are jumping into mobile. According to the survey, mobile websites and apps are currently the most widely adopted mobile marketing tactics, used by 46% and 45% of marketers, respectively. And of those marketers without mobile web or app strategies, about three in 10 planned to implement one over the next 12 months. However, the highest percentage of marketers said they planned to make their push into mobile ad campaigns and mobile email programs over the next year.

Marketers are also showing a strong inclination to expand into different types of owned media, including some delivered via third-party platforms. While 66% of marketers said their company used a social network, almost as many—59%—were active in microblogging. Marketers were eager to move into third-party social apps, as well, with 26% of respondents planning to launch them over the next year.

As emarketer reported, the continued fragmentation of the media landscape necessitates that marketers consider their campaigns across a number of channels—especially mobile and social—and work closely with technologists to ensure efficient execution of strategies.

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