According to the results, about 66 percent of marketers utilized social media this year, up from just 20% in 2007. Half of those surveyed use viral videos, up from a quarter in 2007.

Top social networks used by marketers according to the survey:

- Facebook (74 percent)
- YouTube (65 percent)
- Twitter (63 percent)
- LinkedIn (60 percent)

The most effective newer media platforms in 2009 according to the survey:

- Search engine marketing (SEM) (65 percent)
- Own Web site (59 percent)
- SEO (55 percent)
- E-mail marketing (45 percent)

"As more media platforms become available, it is imperative that all marketers continue to assess their capabilities and select the platforms that are best suited to help them meet their brand’s goals and objectives," said Bob Liodice, president and CEO of the ANA. "With this proliferation of media, marketers must work harder, survey the entire landscape available to them and create their brand’s most optimal media mix."

The survey highlights the differences in social media use among B2B and B2C marketers. B2C use more mobile and Facebook marketing, while B2B use LinkedIn and even Twitter more. B2C marketers get more out of search engine marketing, while B2B marketers get more out of webinars.

When it comes to paying for social media campaigns, 55 percent of those surveyed shifted funds from their traditional media budgets, while 48% shifted funds from other marketing communications budgets. Only 26% created an incremental budget. ROI and metrics are still the top concerns companies have about social media.

Taobao’s dominant hold on China’s e-commerce business, with 67 percent of the market share in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, could extend as the company extends into B2C sales.

That could prove to be a barrier to MSN’s China aspirations and another blow to eBay’s business in the country. Taobao.com’s General Manager Toto Sun said in a statement his company has no fear of American businesses:

Taobao.com said companies it has deals with now include Motorola, Nokia, Haier, Aigo, Lining, Adidas, Giordano, and UT Starcom. They plan to add more in the future.

Yahoo invested $1 billion in Alibaba last year, and in turn sold Yahoo China to Alibaba. Since then, Alibaba has spent $750 million of that money as of two months ago, and possibly more of it at this time.

Judging by Taobao’s entry into B2C, it is likely some of that investment found its way into laying the groundwork for that service.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.

However, Scott Mason’s article in DM News, which was written primarily for B2C marketers, illustrates an important truth for us all: Lead generation isn’t just about instant gratification.

Mason writes:

The perennial rewards of lead generation are reaped from patient tending to potential customers over time. My CEO reminisced about a call from a client who raved about the ROI boost from a lead generation campaign that he canceled almost a year earlier. Now that the client was earning three and four times the return on his original lead generation investment, he realized the error he made by canceling the campaign.

I would add that consistency is required too. Good lead generation identifies, initiates, and nurtures relationships with the right people, regardless of their timing to buy, until they are sales-ready leads.

Link: DMNews.com | News | Lead Generation Pays Over Long Term

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Brian Carroll is the CEO of InTouch Inc. InTouch is a 50-person company focused on delivering effective lead generation solutions for “the complex sale.”

Brian authors the very interesting B2B Lead Generation Blog which focuses on B2B lead generation, sales leads, and marketing for the complex sale.

Many point out that their company is business-to-business and they want to work with someone who specializes in that space. Still others are in the business-to-consumer space and are sure they need a specialist in that realm. Often I almost lose each group’s attention when I say we specialize in both. They pause. The silence is defining. I try to get them back, “Both B2B and B2C’s want to position well in the search results. We specialize in helping sites position well in the engines. Therefore we specialize in both business and consumer flavored sites.”

I then let this sink in for a couple of seconds. If there is still a defining silence I can mention a client or two of ours that is B2B or B2C. This always seems to make the call more comfortable.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am not saying or pretending that there aren’t significant differences between the B2B and B2C spaces. I just want to make it clear that the framework of best practices for search engine optimization and marketing is sound for both areas.

Let’s use a couple of examples to draw this out a bit. How about real estate? We all know what that is. In this case we are talking search engine results real estate. You want to have a visible listing on the search results page. This is the real estate you are working with. Whether it is in the natural or the paid listings, you need a solid best practices plan to keep visible at all. No difference between B2B and B2C here.

“Oh, but we aren’t in this for just branding,” is what you may say. Well, many sites both B2B and B2C are in this, at least partially, for branding. You may be a B2C that doesn’t want branding. You just want sales. Talk to one of your B2C colleagues at another company and she may point out that branding is precisely what she needs. In this case the B2B vs. B2C argument is thrown out. Now it’s B2C vs. B2C. You see how complicated it can get? (By the way, everyone should be aware of branding in the search results. But that’s a blog post for another day.)

Do the search engines specialize in B2B and B2C results? The answer is yes and both. Last I checked, Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Ask (yes I dropped the Jeeves part on purpose) did not have radio buttons to mark a search B2B or B2C. Nope. Any one search starts with the same little search box and button.

In the end it is all about doing the right things to earn a decent nod from the engines. Building relevant sites that people want to visit and link to is key. The engines are happy to see you listed near the top if you deserve it. Whether you B2B folks just want sales leads that convert over months, or you B2C folks want a sale a second, its all the same to the engines. You have to earn it and there are no short cuts or tricks that work, for the long-term anyway.

Much the same can be said for the paid search marketing space. B2B and B2C sites face essentially the same challenges. They both seek a decent return on ad spend, an acceptable cost per acquisition, a workable ROI index, and maybe some branding thrown in.

As you look for a vendor or partner to help with you search engine placement you should look for companies with a solid track record of successfully and safely positioning sites. That should come first. Whatever your goals, they should be able to help.

Oneupweb is the only two-time winner of the ClickZ award for “Best Search Engine Engine Marketing Firm”. StraightUpSearchs blog authors include experts from Oneupwebs natural SEO, pay-per-click campaign management, research, marketing, design, and sales departments.