It is important to know exactly what you want your social media marketing to accomplish before you begin. Many people jump into this realm without having any concrete goals in mind, beyond getting a bunch of "followers." This leads quickly to frustration and, for many, the assumption that social media "doesn't work." Your social media efforts will be more successful when you have clearly defined objectives for your campaigns. Unless you know what you want to accomplish, you won't know if you're on track-and if you don't know if you're on track, you won't be able to make the necessary adjustments to optimize your efforts.

A key element to this piece is setting realistic goals. Social media marketing can be an extremely effective way to accomplish many great things, but you won't achieve instant fame overnight-or without consistent effort. That is why it's best to look six months to a year in the future when setting time frames for your goals. You might have some short-term goals that will lead you to those more distant objectives, but it's important to be realistic and know that you aren't likely to see a significant impact in your business right away.

Common social media marketing objectives include increasing Web site traffic, monitoring or improving your company's reputation, building brand awareness, and increasing sales. Let's take a look at each of these in more detail.