According to a new piece of research, 2009 will be the year of social networking for marketers.

A lack of real understanding of social networks prevents almost half of UK  marketers from investing in social networks. The research revealed that 41% of marketers cited "lack of understanding" as the chief barrier to investment in social media.

But 50% who responded said that 2009 will be the year of social networking for marketers and 54% of had run a social networking campaign in the past six months.

This figure will no doubt increase as the time people spend on social networks rises. In addition, the audience has broadened and matured, therefore providing the ideal platform for carefully targeted, creative and personalised PR and marketing campaigns.

The most used social media by marketers are:

• Sites like YouTube and Flickr (62%)

• Micro-blogs such as Twitter (59.8%)

• Corporate/campaign blogs (59%)