If 2010 was the year that businesses started to take social media seriously, 2011 was the year that saw them putting their money where their mouths are. Straight from the off, surveys suggested that more than half of brands were planning to increase their social media expenditure in 2011 in an effort to support the likes of customer service.

Indeed, by the year’s end, the number of companies using social media to react to customer issues and enquiries had increased dramatically, with The State of Social Report 2011 indicating that almost two-thirds of companies say they are now beyond the experimental phase, and are integrating social media efforts with other marketing channels and across business functions. This compares to just over 50% a year ago.

With this in mind, MyCustomer.com takes a look back at some of the news and stories that we've covered in the past 12 months, and considers what we've learned about engaging with customers in the social channel in this groundbreaking year.

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