Dive Brief:

• A new study from IBM shows that only 20% of CMOs are leveraging social media for customer engagement. 
• A large majority of CMOs, 82%, feel under-prepared to deal with the data explosion. 
• Although few are utilizing data effectively today, 90% of CMOs survey said they intend to use advance predictive analytics in the next three to five years. 

Dive Insight: 

Overall, the study shows that CMOs recognize the value and potential in leveraging social media in their digital strategies, but continue to lack the know-how or resources to effectively integrate it. The study didn't just show the gap between aspirations and actions — those CMOs who identified as "Digital Pacesetters" were overwhelmingly also included in the "Financial Outperformers" category, showing that embracing social media paid off. The next step is figuring out how to close the gap.