A new report on the top ten issues in digital marketing for 2010 has highlighted the dangers, as well as the opportunities, that brands can face when launching social media campaigns.
 
So-called "digital storms" can occur on social media networks according to the 33 Digital study, with the control of social spam expected to present new challenges to marketers.
 
According to expert Leon Benjamin, an important way for companies to use social media is to equip their employees with the knowledge they need to man a Facebook or Twitter campaign themselves.
 
Outsourcing this task to an agency, he said, will damage the brand's reputation when customers find out they're not talking to the genuine article.
 
"People talk to people, not to brands," added Mr Benjamin.
 
"Witness how @BTCare on Twitter changes the name of the person you're speaking to every day.

"Invest in creating in-house competencies in social media software development and design to execute for your clients."