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A new research by King Fish Media, HubSpot and Junta42 has revealed that marketers are using a mix of social media and content to get closer to customers.

A survey was conducted to know what kind of strategies marketers were using to connect closely with customers by King Fish Media and the survey's two co-sponsors, HubSpot and Junta42. Four hundred and fifty seven respondents, primarily corporate management and marketing/sales management professionals, completed this survey.

King Fish Media, HubSpot and Junta42 togather released the second installment of three-part marketing research series.

According to the survey report, marketers have been searching for the right formula for their social media strategies.  They are attempting to align sales and marketing objectives with the tactics that will generate the best return.

A new marketing atmosphere is created in which social media has been adopted on a grand scale, and the search has morphed into a race toward social media legitimacy, superiority and expertise.

The second installment of their three-part marketing research series - "Social Media Usage, Attitudes and Measurability: What Do Marketers Think?" by King Fish Media, HubSpot and Junta42 reveals that despite the clear reliance on specific technological platforms, marketers who have made content king are seeing the best results.

According to the survey report, 85 percent of respondents said that original content is critical to the success of their social media campaign. More often, branded original and expert content is used than any other type of content.  And, development of an audience for content is one of the top objectives of marketers.

The survey also reveals that 43 percent of respondents were not required show positive ROI to get social media funding from their organization. Approximately 72 percent of all companies currently have a social media strategy.

"It goes without saying that any marketing tactic is ultimately rooted in a company's desire to strengthen customer bonds and/or generate leads, but social media is an ideal platform for engaging in regular dialogues with customer bases and prospects," says Gordon Plutsky, director of marketing and research, King Fish Media. "This research confirms what we've been saying for years: content is the key to creating an emotional connection. Social media has clearly emerged as a dynamic vehicle for delivering it to the right people in their preferred format."

Among the respondents, only 9 percent of surveyed organizations said that they have full-time positions dedicated to managing social media responsibilities, while 90 percent included those as part of someone's overall responsibilities. And, 67 percent only have focus their social media efforts on their company as a whole, while 41 percent promoted individuals within the company and 24 percent promoted a specific brand.

King Fish Media publicized the survey through email invitations and blog posts, as well as shared the link via social networking sites Facebook (News - Alert), Twitter and LinkedIn. The data was compiled and tabulated by Datastar of Waltham, MA.