Optimizing social media marketing is a blend of art and science. The market is moving at super sonic speeds, new platforms, applications and processes are being announced every day; but, the opportunities are significant!

1) Be patient - it takes time to understand the marketing maxims and to generate traction with social media marketing.

2) Focus on curating (sourcing and refining) high quality content and cross posting  it across the social web.

3) Identify who your target market is and where they “live socially” - LinkedIn and Twitter produce much better results for B2B companies than Facebook in many cases.

4) Engage with social consumers - it’s important to do more than push high quality content across the social web. These vibrant social communities take note of those that aren’t engaging and will rebuff your brand. Listen, learn and engage.

5) Less is more - it’s much better to have 2.5K Followers on Twitter who are actively engaging with your brand versus 10K who aren’t paying attention to your content.

6) Pay it Forward when where you can - these communities do take note of those that make sincere attempts to help each other. Invest in helping others to reap rewards.

7) Repetition produces better marketing ROI - posting a brilliant blog post via Twitter only once will not do much for you. Your content messaging has to rise above the noise level that exists in the social eco system - don’t be shy about repeating your messaging.

8) Listen to the social stream to help you refine your marketing strategy. Today’s social consumers and businesses will tell you what you want to hear about your products and services if you understand how to listen.

9) Use social media to support customer initiatives. Every startup in Boston and the mythical Silicon Valley is using Twitter to communicate with and respond to their customers in real time.

10) Motivate brand advocates to talk about your brand, products or services within the social community. This is a powerful way to amplify your marketing messaging, although it can cut both ways, positive or negative.

Questions comments or thoughts on optimizing social media marketing? We’d love to hear them - please comment below!