Social media marketing surges ahead as marketers recognise the value of targeted advertising and real engagement with consumers. In a survey of more than 1,000 marketers from around the world, Alterian found that 66% of respondents will be investing in social media marketing activity over the next year and as many as 40% said they would be using the DM budget to do so.

Commenting on the survey results Alterian CEO, David Eldridge, said, “2010 marks the start of the digital decade for marketing. Untargeted and irrelevant marketing techniques are now redundant and the results of this survey show many in the industry recognise this.”

However advertisers need to be aware of the potential risks to brand reputation if things go wrong. Do you know your flog from your blog and what happened to Walmart when its fake blog was discovered? Read our guide to understanding and minimising risks of social media marketing.