Social media offers a wealth of opportunities for consumer engagement and building brand awareness, but in such an open and dynamic space it's critical to consider what you're doing carefully. Social media is consumer driven, and the very characteristics that make it such an enticing proposition for marketers - the interconnected nature of online consumers, and the staggering speed at which information traverses the network - can just as easily backfire.

The ‘rules' of social media are really about applying a bit of common sense to what are essentially human relationships. The key thing to remember is that this is social media - people are going online to interact and exchange information and content with similar, like minded people. They're unlikely to be interested in your latest sales pitch, and they're certainly not interested in promotional hype. They want interesting, fun, informative, quirky, addictive... whatever turns them on. When it comes to social media, you're not just sending out a message, your inviting a response, and what you get might not be quite what you're expecting. You need a plan to engage in social media marketing, but you also need to be flexible and respond to the community.