2009 was the year of social media with social mediums such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, experiencing explosive growth as consumers increasingly turned to these networks for recommendations on products and services. In fact, a recent Razorfish survey of digitally connected customers found that 97 percent of their online experiences influenced their purchasing decisions. Some additional interesting data to consider:

• Facebook now has more than 350 million active users. Fifty percent of those users check their Facebook page every day.
• In October 2009, Twitter had more than 58.3 million unique visitors.
• LinkedIn has more than 53 million members around the world including executives from all Fortune 500 companies.

As we approach 2010, we believe social media will become even more ubiquitous and continue to evolve as more businesses and organizations leverage these mediums. Some key trends for 2010 that we anticipate on the horizon include:

1. B2Bs will continue to leverage social media to drive sales and achieve business objectives.
2. More business decision makers will look to social networks for information.
3. Real-time search results will make social media content and posts more discoverable.
4. Social networks are here to stay. We are going to see companies increasingly turning to social media to engage with and provide value to their target audiences.

For more information on how businesses can leverage social mediums such as Facebook and Twitter, revisit some of our past blog posts including:

• Four Reasons Corporate Communications Should Own Social Media
• My Favorite Twitter Tools
• Five Tips for Motivating Employees to Twitter on Behalf of Your Brand