Many marketers find themselves thrust into a world where they've lost control. While some see the social media frontier as a great opportunity, many see it as the Wild West - a place where things can quickly get unmanageable. Is there an easy way for marketers to benefit from social media? What can be done to recognize and engage customers who are active social media influencers To meet these challenges, businesses are turning to direct social media marketing. Designed to bring the benefits of direct marketing to the social media frontier, these solutions enable businesses to recognize, segment and engage customers who are social media users, while also monitoring relevant social media activity. This white paper will examine social media trends and reveal the many advantages of direct social media marketing.