According to a new piece of research, most companies are planning to invest more in social media next year but are struggling to find the time and resources to manage their activity.

The Social Media and Online PR Report showed that 86% of companies plan to spend more money on social media in 2010.

Over half (54%) cited their biggest barrier to better social media engagement was a lack of resources, with 90% of businesses stating that social media is taking up more time internally than a year ago.

These statistics show that while an increasing number of companies are embracing social media, many are struggling to effectively manage their engagement and are consequently failing to make the most of building solid relationship with consumers.

52% of respondents who are heavily involved said they have gained real value, compared to only 13% of companies who "experimented but not done much".

Before they think about their strategy and the best tactics, companies need to go back to basics and think in detail about how online PR and social media can help them deliver against their business objectives.

The majority of organisations (62%) are using Twitter for publicising new content, with 54% using the channel for marketing or brand monitoring (47%). Only 27% of companies are using Twitter as a customer service tool for reacting to issues and inquiries, while 25% use Twitter as a customer feedback tool.