It’s clear that social media has grown dramatically over the last few years and that with an increase of than 800 million active users, the quantity of Facebook users is easily more than twice the size of the complete population of the United States!

Its growth has been astronomical now, millions of people are posting more personal and business information online than previously. It’s happening at lightning speed with thousands of posts, tweets and uploads occurring every hour.

Recent research conducted by the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) commissioned by Sensis Pty Ltd (May 2011, p. 10) indicates, that “62% of Australian Internet users use a variety of social media sites, with many visiting each day and most at least several times a week.” It’s no real surprise that with the an incredible number of prospective customers from everywhere using these sites, every day, that so many businesses have decided to include social media marketing into their marketing mix. Nonetheless it also important to get an understanding of how these sites are increasingly being used and what’s involved with maintaining or resourcing your organization presence on these sites. Your online footprint can stick around for some time so don’t underestimate how this can affect the perception of one’s brand on the market place. Spend some time upfront thinking about whether social media marketing is right for your business.

1. Seek first to comprehend – It is vital that you understand the fundamentals of how is social media marketing actually works and how it’s used. What exactly are people and businesses doing with social media marketing? What gets them results? Some of you may be thinking, how do I do this? Perchance you could consider trying it out for yourself by setting up an individual account, then testing a number of the features, or get a trusted friend showing you their account and guide you through. Alternatively you can find so many resources and ‘how to’ items online about social media, that you could run a explore Google or on YouTube on a particular topic of interest and watch the video tutorials to obtain informed.

2. Understand your purpose – What is your purpose is for using social media marketing? What do you desire to achieve for your business by using it? It’s really essential that you identify your purpose so you can get involved in social media (or any other marketing activity for example). Social Media Brand Management agency need to work out why you are engaging. What do you expect to achieve? Do you simply desire to build brand awareness, build relationships your customers or identify new sales opportunities? Remember to be realistic about what you believe you will be able to accomplish.

3. If you decide to engage in social media, which sites are best for you? – With the plethora of social media sites available, those are best for the business? Think about where your market would socialize online, and take into account the period of time and resources you’ll realistically be able to invest in maintaining and administering your website presence. Which ones are right for you? You might find that some certainly are a better fit than others.

4. Quality Content – If you decide that social media is right for the business, carefully consider the amount and quality of information you wish to share in the web sphere. Remember it’ll probably stay there for a long period, so you must make sure it accurate and reliable information that is valuable to your target audience. It must be relevant, otherwise people won’t read it.