Boston—A new report by Aberdeen Group found that 68% of best-in-class companies (those demonstrating marketing excellence) plan to increase their marketing budgets this year for social media.

The report, “The ROI on Social Media Marketing: Why It Pays to Drive Word of Mouth,” was based on an online survey of 275 marketers at enterprise companies.

The survey, which was conducted in January and February, found that while companies are increasing their spending on social media, many say it is hard to measure.

According to the research, 39% of all companies said it was somewhat difficult to measure social media, and 20% said it was very difficult.

The full report is available at http://www.aberdeen.com/summary/report/benchmark/5639-RA-social-media-marketing.asp.

—Kate Maddox