A recent study by the Association of National Advertisers suggests more and more companies are using social media as part of their marketing efforts.
As marketers embrace new media platforms, social media and viral videos have seen the largest jump in ranking, according to a survey done by the ANA (Association of National Advertisers), BtoB Magazine and in partnership with marketing services firm ‘mktg.’ The survey found that 66 percent of marketers utilized social media in 2009, as compared to 20 percent in 2007. Fifty percent employ viral videos, up from only 25 percent in 2007.
Some of these numbers shouldn’t be at all surprising, considering the buzz around social sites like Twitter recently. But while the numbers show significant growth in social media marketing, there are some lingering concerns:
The top concerns for marketers when considering newer media platforms are the inability to prove ROI (45 percent) and having metrics to properly allocate the mix of traditional and digital media (43 percent).
Proving ROI can be difficult, but it’s definitely not impossible. Furthermore, there are other advertising mediums that can’t necessarily track ROI either (say for example, a huge highway billboard) so does this mean companies should shy away from it?
The article mentions the top “social” sites – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn & YouTube – but more importantly, and this is something we strive to explain to our clients, is that companies don’t necessarily need to focus their time and energy producing content on all these sites. Instead, choose those that have the greatest chance in succeeding based on pre-defined goals.
And just when you thought social media was still new, the article mentions what companies will be focusing on in the future:
In the next year, blogs are the new media format at the top of the list for all marketers (34 percent), followed by mobile (28 percent) and social media (23 percent), among marketers not already using each respective platform. Viral video and podcasts are also of high interest for many b-to-b marketers to begin using.
Good thing we specialize in blog management eh 
When we work on projects, our definition of social media already includes blogs, forums, videos as well as sites such as Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn. Combined, each of these social marketing strategies can prove very worthwhile.
You can read the full article HERE