With approx. 87% of Canada’s online population on or using social networking sites it is becoming rather imperative that your company has an online social networking strategy. This strategy should include but is not limited to:

- Social Network (SN) groups/communities

- SN advertising

- SN & Blog integration

- SN search strategies

- SN research and evaluation

- SN co-branded promotions

- A SN resource dedicated to managing all of the above

- Company blog content and link management

Your brand is being discussed in groups and social communities online and you need a marketing/brand advocate to manage and monitor these interactions while providing senior management with weekly or monthly reports. With such a large online population using social networks you will have (or will soon have!) geographic and psychographic data to target new or existing segments online to grow or retain customers. Your advertising can be a lot more targeted and in doing so drive better results. I also believe SN is an integral part of online customer service and soon if not already you will find a more of your customer interaction occurring within social networks.

Stay ahead of the curve and start integrating social networking marketers into your organization or expect to be left behind.