Make sure you know the basics when it comes to the tools you use like social media marketing. An effective business plan gets an extra boost from an online press release, and a respect for the wants and needs of the target market. When you mix things up and apply what you learn about how to become successful when it comes to social media marketing, you should have no problem succeeding.

Make use of Facebook and Twitter to promote any contests or special events you have going on. Because of the way social media works, news of your contest will spread very quickly. The contest should both interesting and original, as well as tied into whatever you happen to be selling. A great contest that you can put on is for your customers to name a new product you are going to launch in the near future, or design a logo for it.

Run a contest or raffle through your Facebook presence where individuals can win something, either over the Internet or even in real life. Your products can be awarded as a winning prize to those who win the contests you hold. Not only is this a good way to reach out to and interact with your customers and fans, but it's a fantastic marketing move.

YouTube videos are an excellent way to promote yourself or your business. Regularly create videos about new business activities, or create an ongoing video blog. Post the videos on YouTube and your blog, for maximum exposure.

Use Twitter or Facebook for advertising limited or exclusive offers. Setting a time limit that will create some urgency will allow some convenience as well. Customers that know they missed out on good deals will begin paying attention more to the updates you make. Take advantage of this fact to increase your follower count.

If you have a blog, use a "Retweet" button at the top of every blog post. This makes it much easier for other people to share your the content through twitter. You will increase the size of your viewership exponentially, getting your information out and where you want it effectively.

Make people feel comfortable enough to post on your blog. One great advantage of enabling comments is that you can converse directly with your readers without giving out personal contact information like your email address. Enable the "leave comments" field, but stay on top of what people are posting. Remove spam comments and offensive statements that preclude a friendly exchange.

Technology today can really help to increase your sales and exposure, by utilizing applications such as Facebook Places. Offer your customers a discount or freebie for mentioning your social media profile to the cashier. There are many good examples to help you learn more.

Research the demographic of your customers and use it to tailor your social media campaigns accordingly. Figure out who is visiting your profile and then make your campaigns even more appealing to that crowd.

Social media should be used as a way to inform readers of information and services that your company offers. You could, for instance, get involved with your community and post pictures of a fund raising activity. Write articles about your employees, or post photos of them working or attending events. Try anything that will give your company a great image.

Don't simply push products blindly upon any reader that happens to scan through your blogs. Include testimonials, relevant articles and links to content your followers will find useful. Run contests, post pictures and ask questions. Keep your followers interested and engaged. Seek product or service engagement rather than product placement. Unless your business competes solely on price, be certain you also focus on other attributes of your product or service that illustrate the value of your product or service in a consumer's life.

The less your customer has to do upfront, the more likely they are to seek information on your company. When you ask for too much personal information up front, the customer may become suspicious and decide not to continue looking at your website. Keep it simple from the start, and you will find yourself with a growing customer base.

Apply these tips to your marketing plan. Then sit back and see how much social media really helps your business. If you are new to this area of marketing, you will soon see these ideas as a great way of generating business, increasing the awareness of your business and getting a bigger customer base.