Social media became The Place to be in the past year. Americans spend 80% more time on networking sites in the past year alone, according to researchers. What does it mean to you? It means that your customers spend a lot less time on non-networking websites - websites like yours. If you owned your business for a while, you have been around the block. You know, that being where your customers are is vital for your business survival. On the internet, the same principle applies. But don't rush to join all the networking sites and don't start pounding people with sale offers and coupons. People hate that. Instead, have a plan. 80% of people are now on Facebook. Look at some of the fan pages that promote businesses similar to yours. Concentrate on the ones that have the most fans - they know what they are doing. Try to apply their strategy to your business and come up with ways you can do it better or at least as good as them. Add Facebook fan page and try it out. 66% of Americans are on Twitter. First, find out what Twitter is. Read up on proper Twitter etiquette. Learn the ropes, read public Twitter timeline, follow some people, decide for yourself what posts you like and which ones you don't like and why. It is very likely that your customers will have the same reaction to the same type of posts. Find some businesses on Twitter that are similar to yours. Look for them in Twitter directories. Find which businesses get most responses from their followers and figure out why. Try to emulate success. Don't forget about YouTube (55% of Americans are using it). Consider writing a blog (43% of Americans are reading blogs). Figure out where your customers are and go to them. You can successfully brand your company if you are doing it right. But remember, people despise advertising if it is shoved down their throats. If they know what they are signing up for, however, it works just fine. Offer a service, explain what it is and deliver exactly what you said it would be. People will opt in if they see the value. But make sure you do it right. You can hurt your company image on the internet if you start annoying people instead of helping them. Control your message, control your branding, expand your reach. You might think it takes a lot of time to integrate your business into social networking world. I agree with you. If you are doing it yourself, it might take a lot of time away from your business. It is time to decide if you want to do it yourself or hire a consultant to set everything up for you. The important thing to remember is to set your goal and measure and improve. If you are not getting new clients from Twitter, for example, is it because you are not doing it right or your strategy is flawed? Measure, evaluate, adjust, and try again. You will be rewarded with happy customers.