An interesting development in the internet marketing space related to social media marketing is that many sites include features where companies can create profiles (Facebook, for instance, allows companies to create 'pages') where users can become 'fans' of the company; its products; services etc. As more and more businesses, particularly retailers, turn to the Internet and social media marketing to bolster waning sales in the face of a global economic downturn, social media sites may likely become the next major retail destination. A recent 2009 survey has indicated that companies in the USA are currently spending close to 3.5% of their marketing budgets on social media marketing and this is likely to increase to around 13.7% within five years.One of the biggest advantages of social media marketing (unlike other online strategies like search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising etc) is that it is easy to implement; something everyone can do with some effort and knowledge!