Online advertisers need to become aware of the benefits making use of social media websites can bring, an industry expert has suggested.

According to Jalali Hartman, director of strategy at MarketingExperiments.com, the likes of YouTube, MySpace and Digg could be crucial for those wishing to drive website traffic, increase online revenue and promote brand awareness.

He said: "Marketers simply can't afford to ignore growing social media marketing opportunities."

Mr Hartman claimed that although social media will never be "a total marketing solution" for firms, advertisers should be aware of the various theories, tactics and methodologies that blogs, user-generated content, forums and other areas of the sector attract.

Last week, a study by iProspect revealed that about half (48 per cent) of online marketers surveyed are placing content on social media websites in attempts to increase online revenue and drive user traffic.