Nielsen Online, a leading source for research and data on internet trends, recently held a webinar titled Consumer in Control: Social Media Strategies for Retailers and Brands. While the bulk of the discussion was aimed at marketers in the retail space, the Nielsen team discussed trends that are relevant to anyone interested in social media.

Here are a few you should take note of:

1. Consumers are going on social media sites at increasing numbers and spending more time on them. Facebook traffic is up 200% over the past year and much of this coming from MySpace users who are now using Facebook. Twitter traffic is up 1500% over the year.
2. Everyone is using social media. It’s not just young people. And it’s not just techies.
3. Social media is tapping into a core human need: to connect to others. People want to be heard and social media is providing an outlet for consumers of all ages and demographics to have a voice. Social media technology is making it easier for consumers to advocate for the brands and things they most care about.
4. Social media provides marketers with an opportunity to “listen” to consumers. By listening in and joining conversations, marketers can track conversations that are happening online everyday about their brand, service or industry. In this way, social media complements traditional market research. It provides another way of understanding what’s important to consumers while also facilitating ongoing conversations with customers, and can help companies identify issues that may have been off the radar screen of businesses.
5. Assume customer control/power will grow – it will not level off anytime soon.

Bottom line: if your have an idea, product, or service in the marketplace, you should be using social media to listen to and engage your audience (e.g., clients, customers, memers, donors). There are important insights to be gained from actively participating on social media sites.