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Using social networking sites to market your business can be tricky.

Firstly you need to set objectives for want you want from social networking marketing.

You should not set a list of basic goals of what social networking could do for your business – you should come up with a clear focus. These might be something simple like increased brand awareness or better customer referral rates but it gives you a specific direction to move forward.

Your objective should be directly target what social networking can do for your business and your clients.

Secondly, make sure your social networking campaigns have relevance to your firm’s customers.

Relevance is what social networking is all about. No one is bothered about doing a Facebook quiz about new frying pans. Tap into current events like the football world cup or the general election and find a twist which can link this to your company.

Going back to the frying pan metaphor – you could run a football quiz where winner gets a free pan which you claim is the best pan for making half time bacon sandwiches.

Use topics that you can actually give leverage to your company’s marketing campaign.

Finally, before you enter the world of social networking re-examine your company’s value chain.

Look at what your website, products, packaging and point of sale have got to do with social networking. Ask if these aspects have the right pull to help you create an online community of followers.

If you can tweak your services to work well with social networking you could end up enlisting a loyal band of fans that will be more valuable to your business than all the marketing campaigns that you have done to date.