A new Nielsen study, commissioned by BlogHer and iVillage found that 73 percent of the online population engage in social media activity at least once per week. Engagement was defined as reading a blog, visiting a social network or reading (and/or commenting on) a message board. The research pegs the total U.S. social media audience at 127 million.

Size of Social Media Users Online

The survey of 1,700 showed that 47 percent visit Facebook daily, nearly rivaling the 55 percent that watch TV. Facebook daily use exceeds other traditional media like radio (37 percent) and newspapers (22 percent).

What that means for marketers is that what was an early adopter segment of your target audience is becoming mainstream. A greater population is engaged in social media means social marketing programs will have a stronger influence. This further reduces the effect of traditional advertising. Look for more spending and focus in social media marketing and more opportunities to engage consumers.

Download the report: Social Media Matters 2010