Every distributor wants a strong return-on-investment from their marketing dollars. For those investing time and energy in social media like blogs, networking sites and viral videos, this ROI is easier to come by. How much easier? According to a recent study, businesses that are best-in-class in terms of social networking are 80 times more likely to increase their ROI than laggards.

The report, entitled “Social Media Marketing: The Latest Buzz on Word of Mouth,” rests on research by the Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company, in June and July. Aberdeen polled 300 companies about their use of social media. While less than a third (29%) of companies surveyed had been involved in social media for more than two years, those that had mastered it were 2.5 times more likely to drive brand advocacy about their clients. They were also 19 times more likely to increase overall marketing effectiveness.

Boundless Network (asi/143717) is one distributor that has been converted to the power of Web 2.0. In late July, it announced it was dumping its traditional public relations agency in favor of a digital agency called Diverge Communications. “They are a social media/digital firm that handles our blog strategy, YouTube and social networks like Facebook,” says Courtney Powell, marketing communications manager for Boundless Network.

Why? “Our [social media] strategy has been incredibly valuable for us,” says Powell. “No one is picking anything up off of the wire anymore. Folks spend the majority of their time on their Blackberrys and phones.”

A well-placed blog succeeds in showing clients what a company stands for versus telling them. Absorbentink.com, for example, offers a blog about product safety. “It lets people know that we care about that,” says Lee Eldridge, president of Absorbent Ink (asi/295819). “They can come, read and learn about it. In marketing you can tell people all you want, but if you show them, it means a whole lot more.”

The site’s columnist, “Abby Ink,” gets a few dozen e-mails a month asking for advice. This advice has translated into sales, says Eldridge. “She’s recommended specific products for specific events, and they’ve used them.”

Boundless Network CEO Jason Black also offers his thoughts on a blog about the industry at large and the role technology plays in it. In the fourth quarter, he is planning a consumer-facing blog that talks about the value of promotional products for brands.

“Making marketing programs conversational and contextualized to niche audiences that naturally gravitate around a specific theme or shared passion is the essence of social media marketing, and perhaps the future of marketing itself,” says Jeff Zabin, a research fellow at Aberdeen Group. – KH