The adage "think before you speak" has now become "think before you write." In this age of instant messaging, businesses need to wield their online words thoughtfully. In the world of marketing, social media is seen as the next gold rush-millions of people have embraced social networking as a daily routine. Social media presents itself as the latest and greatest tool available to marketers and organizations. It not only offers a revolutionary means for connecting with customers, sales prospects, or the media, but it also helps manage brand reputation and influence public perceptions. Social media is the (not-so) secret weapon for competing with the "big guns," augmenting traditional marketing campaigns and search engine optimization efforts.

Research from HubSpot, published recently by MarketProfs, finds that companies that blog welcome an average of 55% more visitors to their sites than companies that don't. And they may generate 97% more external website links and 434% more indexed pages, both of which influence a company's search rank. Also, a recent global survey by McKinsey of about 1,700 corporate executives finds that 69% of respondents claim measurable advantages from social networking, including a lower cost of doing business, better access to knowledge, increased marketing effectiveness, insight for developing more innovative products and services, and higher revenues.

Organizations should do some planning, however, before integrating social networking into their day-to-day routines. Social media represents both opportunity and risk, with an emphasis on the latter among people who either don't understand it or prefer to hold out until it becomes mainstream. A whopping 81% of respondents to a survey conducted by Russell Herder and Ethos Business Law in 2009 view social media as a corporate security risk, citing concern about viruses and malware (which can infiltrate the company's IT system), and the potential for confidential company information to be leaked. Both are valid concerns. Companies can, however, take steps to help protect their organization. It is always good to implement firewalls, enact a companywide social networking policy that explaining how each channel can be used, implement approval processes for employee posts on social media sites (nobody wants to go through what Dominos Pizza went because of the video posted on YouTube by two of its employees!), and block all social networking site access on company's servers.

Many companies know the benefits associated with the use of social media, but many aren't ready to put their money where their mouth is, citing fear and apathy as key barriers to its use. An important thing to remember is that the company's involvement in social media can actually improve its reputation. Research performed by Alterian in August 2009 found that 27% of marketing professionals surveyed believe that social media has had the most impact on customer experience during the past year. Plus, 48% of respondents believe it will have the most impact in the coming year. Among the unique advantages that social networking offers to companies engaged in interacting with customers (and the public in general) and interested in boosting their reputation, two are standing out from the crowd.

The first one is the ability to establish communities of loyalists who may keep you informed (and maybe even rise to your defense) if disparaging remarks are posted against your brand. The second one is the potential to influence positive, viral word-of-mouth spread about your brand, thanks to the peer-sharing attributes of social media. A recent study conducted by Avanade, a global IT consultancy firm, acknowledged that social media would, at some point, come into the business "by stealth, if not proactively managed". We all remember F.R. David's great song of the 80's: "Words don't come easy". However, if you haven't started your social media marketing strategy, now is definitely the time.