'Social' doesn't mean 'free' -- you need to make a plan of attack and then stick to it.
Managerial wisdom says that what that doesn't get measured, doesn't get done. And it isn't as difficult to gauge the success of one's social networking initiatives as you might think. Ways of monitoring progress in the social sphere range from the number of comments or replies, new Twitter followers for the month, number of incoming links, pageviews, or the Google page rank score-just to name a few. Set up a list of criteria for how you want to measure your social media success from the get-go, and keep monitoring it. With judicious application and perseverance, I'm certain that you'll see yourself succeeding soon.
There is no set template or formula to creating a social media strategy; the correct approach depends very much on the products and services sold by your company, as well as your objectives. With this in mind, our Paul Mah cut straight to the common denominators -- the truths about social media. For more on how to make the effort meet your company’s objectives, check out Paul's accompanying blog, 