Social Media Marketing (SMM) is the newest buzz in the PR and marketing realm. And as with any new publicity tool, people have lots of questions on how to best utilize it.

SMM takes viral marketing to the extreme. Just as you can send friends your favorite jokes via email, with SMM people can spread your message for you with a simple click of a button. It’s a good type of virus that you hope your message gets infected with it.

To ensure that SMM works for you in a positive way, you need to employ some keys to success. This week, Promotional Consultant Today is offering four guidelines to get you started on the path to successful social media marketing. Today we’ll look at the first tip, Find The Right Sites.

Put your message on the right sites.

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of social media sites available today. You need to determine where your market is and post your messages on those sites. You don’t want to get on the wrong site, as that would waste your time and possibly hurt your credibility. With SMM, being anywhere and everywhere is not the answer. Be strategic and target your market for the best results.

Also realize that your market might change. Just because a certain SMM site attracts your market today doesn’t mean it will tomorrow. People are fickle in and they get bored easily. For example, LinkedIn almost fell out of existence in November 2008. Now they are back to being the biggest business SMM site. But, LinkedIn had to make a huge shift in the services they provide because their market moved. And once the market moves, it tends to go in mass.

So if you are not watching your market, it may leave the social site where you’re sending your messages and SMM efforts will be wasted.

Social Media Marketing is the wave of the future. And when you combine your SMM efforts with your traditional PR avenues, you can create a publicity campaign that gets you noticed by prospects, clients, and key decision makers. The sooner you put SMM to work for you, the more profitable your business will be.

Understand The Purpose Of Each Site

Just as you want to post to the right Social Media Marketing site, you also want to know the goal or focus of each of the various sites. Most people, even those who are new to SMM, have likely heard of the big three sites: LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. These are the most common sites available.

LinkedIn is the leading business networking site — think of it like a corporate boardroom setting. Facebook is for keeping tabs on personal and business contacts — if you use it for business, think of it like entertaining clients in your living room. Twitter is for short updates — think of it as your company’s billboard message.

For business purposes, you may want to stay away from MySpace, as MySpace often leaves a bad taste in the mouth of corporate America. Why? Because there have been more internal corporate scandals and sexual harassment suits in the past year over things that have been posted on MySpace than any other single social networking site. If you currently do have a MySpace page, my suggestion is to hide it.