Starting in 2006, Wave is the world's largest & longest-running study of the impact of social media on today's global marketplace, making UM the most authoritative agency voice in the social media space. Covering 62 countries, 43% of the worlds internet population, Wave 6 'The Business of Social' is the most ambitious & sophisticated instalment to date. It offers invaluable, actionable insights as to how advertisers can bring commercial value to their business through social media strategies, at a time when the value of social media has never been more important for brands.

Knowledge is vital if we are to make social media a legitimate platform for the development of brands.

Wave is a social media study. Wave has retained the same methodology from Wave 1 to Wave 6, enabling comparison across the waves. All research is conducted by the EMEA Research team in collaboration with the UM network of Agencies. The survey is carried out using UM's in house research system, Intuition. We have surveyed 41,738 16-54 Active Internet Users in 62 countries. All surveys are self-completed and the data collected is purely quantitative. Active Internet Users use the Internet every day, or every other day. Social media is driven by Active Internet Users.

Our research shows that social experiences can be very powerful, creating strong connections with the consumer. However it also shows that knowing this is not enough. We also need to know the value these bring. These experiences need not be complicated. The consumer is often the most powerful advocate and ally of a brand: Wave 6 - The Business of Social demonstrates that even simply responding to a customers problems creates more loyalty and advocasy than any reward programme could.

Given that the masses are currently infinitely more adept in the social space than companies, 'The Business of Social' offers advertisers a unique opportunity to reverse that trend, and engage in a meaningful way with an ever-growing number of consumers. Despite the reluctance for many companies to discuss problems, particularly in social media, our research has shown actually responding to customers issues is one of the most powerful social experiences a brand can deliver. In the future social CRM should be a fundamental part of any brands communication strategy.