Even if your Business doesn't participate in Social Media, your Clients will and your Prospects will listen to Them

Consumers are more willing to try out a brand or service if it has been recommended to them online by a friend, according to the latest research.

More than two-thirds of Facebook users in the US said a referral on the ever-popular social networking site would improve their perception, Morpace discovered.

Of those questioned by the firm, 41 per cent said they use fan pages to show their friends which brands they support, Emarketer revealed, which helps improve a firm's online presence.

Offering discounts or coupons to fans of a site will also spur people on to join it, which could prove a value piece of information for online marketers.

Findings from the study show that the average Facebook user is a fan of nine pages.

Recent research from Diffusion shows that the Conservative Party has taken a significant lead in the political march on social networking website Facebook.

Between February 14th and March 15th, 4,688 comments and wall posts had been made on the Conservative party's Facebook fan page.

This compared with 1,229 commenting or posting on the Labour Party Facebook fan page and 727 on the Liberal Democrats'.

Source: eMarketer