At present, social media has grown to a level that businesses of all types now pay testimony to its significance in contribution to overall growth & development. Its via social media only that businesses are capable of supporting their social missions while growing their bottom line at the same time.

Social networking sites have offered the ideal platform for businesses to engage their customers and drive better sales. Moreover, it has been proven by survey results that a brand's presence on social sites like Facebook, Twitter etc., has become the driving force for buyers to make a purchase.

Its quite common to find a number of social media marketing packages on offer from different service providers nowadays. If you also desire to grow your business by harnessing the power of social media then you should be aware of the smart ways of doing so. Most experienced social media marketing companies follow this approach for their clients. Let's have a look at these smart ways in detail -

1. Establish Connection with Customers – Social media serves as a powerful platform for connecting a business with its potential customers. Having a powerful social media presence enhances your personality over web as more people become aware of your company's potential. However, for this to happen in real, you will have to engage your customers as much as possible.

Participate in online conversations and share fresh, engaging content that your audience can make use of. Besides working on the social part, also ensure that all customer service issues are dealt with care, thereby eliminating the possibility of offending any of your customers.

2. Build Collaboration with Other Businesses – Social media also serves as the perfect tool to search for like-minded businesses that are committed to serve the customers in the same way as you do. You can find such businesses to form deep relationships with them and drive the benefits of association in your favor.

Maintain a list of people on Twitter whom you wish to follow closely. Also consider creating collaboration on different social media initiatives like Facebook contest, Twitter party etc. Mentioning some or all of your business associates in your company blog can also work favorable.

3. Stay Abreast with the Social Trends – In this fast changing world, it may be quite problematic to stay updated with the most recent social trends that may lay impact on your business objectives. However, on the social front, the same is achievable by setting up Google alerts for the latest news concerning the social media.

You can also search Facebook and Twitter hashtags to keep track of the hot topics that are generating conversations. Also keep track of your followers & connections to make sure that your social media efforts are working in the right direction.