Step 2: Incorporate social media success factors
The success of a social media marketing and optimization program depends on the following factors:

• Transparency
• Honesty
• Relevance
• Value
• Commitment

Without a level of transparency in your social media outreach, your campaign could blow up on your face (just ask United Airlines and Wal-Mart). Even with full disclosure from your marketing team or partners, dishonest messaging can cause more damage than good, as most information can be quickly validated via online fact-checking. All communications should be relevant and add value to the conversation or community, and no campaign can truly succeed unless significant time and resources are committed over a period of time.

Step 3: Build a foundation
Social media platforms act as "kiosks" for your brand. As such, it is important to provide a centralized resource in order to direct traffic and measure efficacy.

Your corporate website should act as a resource by offering content complementary to social media communities, including articles, press releases, research, and tools. The website should also integrate social media elements, including RSS/XML feeds, status updates, comments, ratings, reviews, forum discussions, and linking social badges/icons. The more your site is able to create a sense of community, the greater the likelihood of generating, retaining, and converting site visitors.