If your marketing approach doesn’t include the use of social media, experts recommend that you reconsider your approach. With the incredible rise in social networking popularity, along with skyrocketing mobile use, attracting customers through social media should be a primary component of a CMO’s strategy.

What does SM offer? Consider these five impacts to marketing activities.

Synergies within a multi-tiered strategy. SM supports multiple integrated functions such as market research, customer service, PR, e-commerce, advertising, promotions and more. By combining SM with traditional marketing activities, many of the standard principles can be deployed, including reach, frequency, service quality, conversion, and – most importantly – sales.

Domino effect on other channels. SM affects search engine rankings (both SEO and paid search), mobile channels and email campaigns. For example, according to comScore, US mobile subscribers use devices to access SM nearly 25% of the time. Implementing SM within other channels boosts page views and click-through.

Offers flexibility and reach. The myriad formats that SM takes allow marketers to broaden reach, connect with markets, and monetize marketing efforts. Consider what the following formats offer:

• Visual/Audio Content – YouTube
• Blogs and Micro-blogs – WordPress and Twitter
• Social Networking – Facebook
• Virtual Gaming – World of Warcraft
• Collaborative Content – Wikipedia

Delivers amplification and leverage. Marketing messages can be shared through stories and recommendations. Convincing customers to post through newsfeeds provides a level of amplification rarely found through other channels. The average Facebook user has 130 ‘friends’ so messages can be distributed exponentially. User opinions and product reviews are fast becoming the discovery mode of choice for consumers.

Provides social analytics. Search ads can be managed through detailed SM analytics, such as time of day, geography and other metrics. Message effectiveness, in terms of engagement and revenue generated, can now be evaluated similar to online analytics through social sphere analytics.

According to a 2011 eMarketer report, more consumers than ever before are using SM sites like Facebook to make purchase decisions. Retailers are just starting to find out how to monetize SM marketing. By adopting social commerce into an ecommerce strategy, CMOs can boost ROI and top-line revenues.