What is your social media strategy?

You can’t make it through a day—or even a few hours—without hearing something about social media.

A social media policy for your employees is essential. A social media strategy for your company is equally—if not more—important. Do you have one? Keep these issues in mind when developing your social media strategy:

• Begin with developing an overall approach to dealing with social media. The actual types of social media are likely to change, so your strategy needs to be flexible and allow for evolving technology and consumer trends.

• Understand how the people you are trying to reach use social media. Consider all of your markets—customers, decision-influencers, media, suppliers, and so on—and design your plan so it positions you appropriately within your markets.

• Be realistic in your expectations. Just because some companies have thousands of followers on Twitter or fans on Facebook doesn’t mean you will—or that you even should. Companies like Walmart and McDonald’s have different goals for their social media efforts than a professional services firm targeting a narrow local market. Also, while social media can make a substantial contribution to your marketing efforts, it shouldn’t be your marketing foundation.

• There’s more to a social media campaign than simply setting up the accounts. Decide in advance who in your organization (employee or consultant/contractor) will be responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining your campaign. A great Facebook page won’t do much for you if you are not posting regular status updates that provide value to your audience.

• Integrate your social media efforts with your overall marketing plan. The design, tone, and message of each element should blend so that you are easily identified no matter what the medium. And while you might “speak” in a different tone on LinkedIn than you do on Facebook, all of your your social media efforts should be consistent with the image you want to project.

• Review your social media activities and results regularly. Josh S. Peters suggests a 60-minute audit every quarter to make sure nothing is falling through the cracks.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of what it takes to effectively use social media to grow your business. It is, however, a good starting point for you to use in evaluating the role of social media in your marketing plan today and in the future.