Social media is becoming an increasingly important channel in workplace communications, according to a new benchmarking report.

In its 2009 Business Social Media Benchmarking Study, Business.com surveyed 2,948 professionals to glean information on how businesses and business people use social media in the workplace.

It found that webinars and podcasts are top social media resources for business professionals, used by 69% of those who turn to social media channels for business information.

It also confirmed that Facebook is the dominant social network for business-to-business companies. Some 77% maintain a profile on Facebook and 73% on Twitter.

Building brand awareness and brand reputation are two of the top social media success metrics, but nearly two-thirds of companies focused on these metrics have little to no insight into performance via standard or easily accessible reports.

Ben Hanna, VP of marketing at Business.com said: "This survey was a way for us to benchmark where businesses, and business people, are finding value in social media in order to further enhance our site offerings and better serve our users."