by Arlene Hauben

Created on: October 24, 2010

Social media is changing the world of marketing. Consumers share information through online social channels that spreads the word about products, restaurants, and retail outlets. Marketers are creating sizable returns because of sites like Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare.

Social media helps businesses save money on print and broadcast advertising, but the process does require people skills and time to send out smart tweets and post status updates throughout the day. Blogging and maintaining Fan Pages on Facebook with news about products and promotions should not be underestimated.

Large companies, and many smaller businesses, are using social media to market their products and services. Last year, social media adoption by businesses with fewer than 100 employees doubled to 24% from 12%, according to a survey (January 2010) of 2,000 US entrepreneurs from the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business and Network Solutions LLC, a Web-services provider in Herndon, VA.

Many companies are hiring social media managers to tweet and post updates throughout the day. It takes practice to tweet, blog, and post in an engaging discussion style, rather than pushing out promotional messages that sound like sales hype.

Defining Social Media

Social media, including blogging, is a new marketing communications tool that should be integrated in the overall marketing and public relations program. Every facet of social media is available to anyone who wants to give their company a voice and audience from day one. The business can create a Facebook Fan Page and start linking to other sites and places on the web to build visibility. They do not have to wait for search engines to recognize their website.

Social media and blogging platforms such as Blogger and Wordpress are democratic. They are open to everyone and enable the users to create an immediate presence on the web. Anyone with a basic computer or cell phone can connect with other people through Facebook and Twitter, anywhere and at all times. The only challenge is the learning curve because it takes time to learn the nuances and technical aspects, but it is doable for anyone with patience and persistence to learn.

How to Get Started

To start your social media campaign, the most manageable sites are Twitter and Facebook.  LinkedIn is excellent for business contact networking. These are all good places to start tweeting and posting. Registration is free.

On Twitter, register your business brand name and assign

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