Social media should no longer be an experiment for marketers, educators, entrepreneurs — but a core piece of the business and brand ecosystem.<<Significant growth in social media. Today, almost all social media tools — including podcasts, user-generated content, and social networks — have twice the percentage of adoption they had in 2007. Forty-eight percent of marketers use podcasts today compared with 25% last year. Forty percent will support user-generated content (UGC) in 2009 — up from 22% in 2007. Social network adotpion has grown from 20% in 2007 to 41% in 2008. Additionally, many marketers who don't yet use social media plan to try it in 2008.>> Forrester Research, Interactive Marketing Channels to Watch, 2008 (8.29.08).
According to the December 2007 Forrester Report "US Interactive Marketing Forecast 2007-2012″, marketers across over 300 industries will adjust how they spend their marketing budgets over the next five years. Static media, or channels that solely "push" information out to customers (such as direct mail, advertising, radio, and television) will experience a projected drop of 40% to 60% 'reach'.

Social media, search engine marketing, mobile marketing, and game marketing will see an average growth in spending of 80%.What has lead to this transformation? The Internet has become a fast and trusted source of consumer research. Approximately 87% of consumers say they use the Internet to find information online, to find product and company information, and to make purchases. Search engines have become more important in a marketer's toolkit.

And once these consumers find what they're looking for online, what do they do? They read customer recommendations and reviews, which lead them through their decision-making process.Based on this accelerating trend in consumer behavior, companies are aligning their advertising spending with consumer behavior. According to the Forrester study, US Social Media spending is projected to have a CAGR of 26% over the next five years.

Companies will - and are increasingly - building social media components into their marketing strategies. Where inviting very public customer feedback a decade ago was seen as potentially damaging, companies today are discovering how building communities around their brand and participating in these communities increases loyalty and helps them get ahead of any possible brand-damaging information in real time.