According to the poll results most social network users fail to perform the following basic security measures on a regular basis:

• Changing passwords (64 percent infrequently or never)
• Adjusting privacy settings (57 percent infrequently or never)
• Informing their social network administrator (90 percent infrequently or never)

Donovan Neale-May
Executive Director
CMO Council

"As social networking populations grow globally and the proliferation of niche social networks and mobile offerings extends the reach of social communities, the threats and vulnerabilities are escalating accordingly," said Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council.

"More frequent breaches and outbreaks on popular social sites are a testament to the need for a more preventative mindset and threat-alert culture among community users."

Other security risks to social networking users include:

• 21 percent accept contact offerings from members they don’t recognize
• More than half let acquaintances or roommates access social networks on their machines
• 64 percent click on links offered by community members or contacts
• 26 percent share files within social networks

Because of the widespread increase of links, files, and unsolicited contacts, users have experienced high levels of breaches and threats:

• Nearly 20 percent have experienced identity theft
• 47 percent have been victims of malware infections
• 55 percent have seen phishing attacks

"The fact that users understand the risks, and yet are failing to take the basic steps to protect themselves presents an interesting challenge to companies, like AVG, that are working to create a safer cyber community," said Siobhan MacDermott, Head of Public Policy, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, AVG Technologies.

Download the CMO Council: Marketing Outlook 2008 executive summary.

One of the key findings from the report is that although progress has been made, senior marketers continue to have a razor focus on marketing ROI and marketing accountability:

• Quantifying and measuring the value of marketing programs and investments remains the top challenge in the year ahead, report 53 percent of respondents.
• When asked how they tracked and measured return on marketing spend, nearly 20 percent of marketers said they did not, while 34 percent said they were planning to introduce a formal ROI tracking system this year.

Another insight from respondents at companies with less than $100M in annual revenue is their single biggest source of frustration or aggravation is “having to do more with less.” Given this pressure constant pressure to squeeze more results out of the same teams and marketing budgets, it’s no surprise that the CMO Council identified several areas of investment in marketing automation to automate processes, optimize lead generation, and improve measurement. The top six areas of planned investment include:

• Email campaign management
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Marketing performance measurement dashboards
• Customer intelligence and solutions
• Search engine marketing (SEM)
• Sales and marketing integration tools

In addition to the report findings, the executive summary has two contributed commentary articles:

• Marketing 2.0 Hits a Tipping Point, by Jon Miller, VP Marketing, Marketo (myself).
• Execution Matters – Delivering on Commitments, Improving Productivity, By Dave Couture Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP

Download the CMO Council: Marketing Outlook 2008 executive summary to see all the findings and read our commentary.

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