photo credit: Sean MacEntee

The end of last month saw online concerns mark Social Media Day, with a great many companies taking a fresh look at how the juggernaut that is social media impacts on their internet advertising and online marketing strategies.

It has been a truism of the past two years that social media such as Facebook and Twitter is the place to be when it comes to the future of online marketing, and there is no sign that the engine is slowing down, with Facebook Fan Pages and Twitter advertising more important than ever. It is no longer a happy luxury, it is an essential part of any internet marketing drive.

The inclusion of social media in such a strategy should never be an addition, or an afterthought. It should be integrated into the overall plan and complement other aspects of online marketing, such as mail outs, SEO marketing and Google Analytics.

With almost half of all businesses using social media as an integral part of their marketing strategy, the lessons for the future are clear.