• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, August 15, 2011

Ready to ride social-media marketing to ever greater heights, Buddy Media has raised $54 million at what is reported to be a valuation of $500 million.

The New York-based company, which helps advertisers manage their presence on social networks -- and Facebook in particular -- has now raised more than $90 million, including $28 million this past fall.

The round was led by existing investor GGV Capital along with Institutional Venture Partners, Bay Partners and Insight Venture Partners, a new investor.

Buddy Media plans to use the new capital to double its product, sales and support staff over the next year, as well as fund additional global offices and acquisitions.

To date, Buddy Media has pursued of number of growth strategies. In May, for example, it acquired social commerce and analytics provider Spinback for an undisclosed sum.

"Our new funding ensures we have the resources necessary to accelerate the growth," said Buddy Media founder and CEO Michael Lazerow.

With the acquisition, Buddy Media sought to answer the question: "What is the ROI of social media?" Lazerow told Online Media Daily. Not exclusive to Facebook, Buddy Media helps marketers make the most of Twitter and other popular social-media platforms.

Buddy Media already works with eight of the 10 top global advertisers. Yet citing "tremendous opportunity" amid the continued rise of social media, he said Buddy remains focused on growth and service innovation.

Rivals in the space include Vitrue and Syncapse, which is considered the social media marketing leader by some. It recently raised an additional $25 million in funding.

Regarding media speculation that Buddy Media is itself a Facebook acquisition target, Lazerow said he could not comment on speculation, adding: "It's not happening."

Additional Buddy Media investors include Facebook investor Ron Conway, Facebook board member Peter Thiel, Zynga founder and CEO Mark Pincus, and Roger Ehrenberg.