It's an art, with no right or wrong formula, so just go with it....

Social Media is a marketing channel, with the potential to create a viral* campaign. Social media allows you the ability to engage your audience (and potential customers) in valuable conversations about your company, product/service, brand, and upcoming promotion and/or event.

The social media marketing umbrella includes:

• Social networking sites/ online communities
• Blogs
• Online forums/ discussion boards
• Review sites
• Video and photo sharing sites

For effective social media marketing you want to be anywhere** (online) that enables and engages you with your audience.

Social media can increase your web presences, drive traffic to your website, expand brand awareness, generate exposure, and provide SEO benefits.

Social media has no tangible ROI, per se, but it can and does offer:

• Brand management
• CRM
• Product development
• Reputation management
• Customer interaction, feedback and support
• Community building
• SEO

Effective social media marketing can result in brand equity and loyalty that ultimately can affect sales and revenue. It may not be as direct as a salesperson closing a deal but WOM from a trusted friend of colleague is more of a seller than a salesperson's selling pitch.

*Please note that "going viral" is not an end-result goal to have with any Internet marketing campaign. Marketers are not the ones to determine if something will go viral, your audience and users do.
**With all marketing initiatives, you need to start with an objective first, and then decide which method and strategy to use to approach the goal at hand. Not all social media platforms are going to be as effective if the online community is not the niche market you are looking to engage with.