By now you’ve heard about the potential of social media marketing. This article has the numbers to prove how big the opportunities are.If your business operates in Toronto, you’ll want to pay close attention. A study in 2007 showed that this city had more Facebook members than any other North American city, with 13% of Torontonians signed up. With Facebook the most popular social networking site by far, it offers a captive audience too important for your Toronto business to ignore.Social Media – Exponential Growth Around the WorldNeilsen – the same company that determines the ratings of your favourite TV shows – has an online division that tracks Internet behaviour. Here are some of the findings from their most recent report. Released in March, 2009, the report summarizes global Internet activity from December, 2007 to December, 2008. Here’s what they found:o Visits to “member communities”, i.e. social networking sites, surpassed email in terms of Internet popularity. Using the measure of time on site, the Neilsen study shows that member communities have a global active reach of 66.8%, compared to 65.1% for email. In other words, two-thirds of global Internet users belong to a social networking site.o The study also notes that people are spending more time on social networking sites. In prior studies, the numbers showed that one of every 15 minutes online was spent on a social networking site. That number is now one in every 11 minutes. In the UK, it is one in every six minutes, and in Brazil, it is one in every 4 minutes.o The Neilsen report also shows the changing demographics of social networking, primarily on Facebook. The largest growth by age group was in the 35-49 demographic, which saw 24.1 million people join Facebook in the year of the study.These numbers make clear how valuable social media marketing has become. What’s more, another study from eMarketer shows that advertising-spending growth on social networks is dropping. The company’s original projection of 32% growth in spending was downgraded in March, 2009 to about half that – 17%. The drop indicates that companies are not interested in buying advertising on social networking sites but, rather, in building their own communities to attract attention and customers.Where to Start with Your Own Social Media Marketing PlanThere are many social media sites around, but the biggest one is (no surprise) Facebook. In 2008, the site saw an increase of 566% in time spent on the site, with an incredible total of 20.5 billion minutes logged over the course of the year.The Neilsen study shows Facebook’s dominance over one-time leader MySpace. Facebook had a change in active reach of 168% between 2007 and 2008, while MySpace’s active reach was -3%. Another site with an impressive increase in reach was LinkedIn, with 137% growth.If you are looking for a place to start, Facebook and LinkedIn are probably your best bet. Keep in mind that, as with any form of marketing, it is best to have a clear strategy for social media marketing. With the right planning and the right approach, you’ll be able to maximize the marketing potential of social media sites.