The Nielsen Company did a study in October 2007 of 24,486 Internet users and asked them to rate what types of advertising they trust. This is an excellent sample size. The findings aren’t terribly surprising:

People trust recommendations from friends more than any type of advertising. Does this mean companies shouldn’t advertise?? Of course not. But it does mean they should be hiring social media agencies as frequently as ad agencies. They should have a social media marketing strategy that empowers users to share recommendations.

Of course, we’re a bit biased. But hey, data don’t lie!