Since launching Buddy Media in September 2007, I have been the leading champion of the use of social applications by brands to engage users. But it’s been lonely on “app island” as many were quick to dismiss the use of apps in ad campaigns, or “app-vertising” as Buddy Media coined it.

So it was welcome news that Forrester Research, in a report released yesterday, became the first independent research firm to encourage clients to use social applications and think “long term” in social ad campaigns.

“To enhance an ad campaign with social elements, interactive marketers should know their audience’s behavior, commit to the communities for the long term,” Forrester’s Sean Corcoran wrote in the report’s executive summary and outlined five different ways that brands can enhance their ad campaigns.

I’m not authorized to share the entire report. So you’ll need to purchase the report yourself,  to see the five ways. But all five ways are core to Buddy Media’s mission to help companies market more effectively in the social media ecosystem.

At the core of Forrester’s recommendation is the idea that social media marketing is not turned on and off like banners, buttons and traditional digital marketing. It’s an always-on program for marketers.

Social media is about using your marketing to build always-on lines of communications with customers and potential customers. The old model is one-way communications that you “rent” from media companies by blasting messages to consumers. The new model is using those media properties to drive people into your community.

Social media is about CRM and tapping into existing communities and customers to spread your brand benefits. Why start from scratch when you have existing communities already at your disposal?

Social media is also about realizing that you brand doesn’t exist just on your web site and in your stores and your marketing. It lives in Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other platforms and you need to take your brands there in a meaningful way.

Ultimately, social media is about making your marketing dollars  go further by turning each touch with a consumer into a longer-term dialogue. That’s what apps do. Buddy Media has proven this with more than 85 programs for the world’s largest brands. And I’m excited that Forrester has finally given this successful approach a big thumbs up.