With the popularity of social networking websites and their use as marketing tools, Twitter and Facebook can be easily leveraged by small businesses working on a small budget to grow their brand and interact with consumers. In this article, we’ll give some easy (and free) tips on how to take advantage of them.The Social Media RevolutionHere are some interesting facts:

• By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers….96% of them have joined a social network
• Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web
• 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media
• Years to Reach 50 million users: Radio (38 Years), TV (13 Years), Internet (4 Years), iPod (3 Years)…Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months…iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months.

Just watch this video to understand “The Social Media Revolution” and find out some interesting facts you didn’t know.To start harnessing the power of social media, follow some of these tips:Create a Fan PageUsing a fan page for creating content and interacting with consumers and client is easy and free. You can use them to showcase new and upcoming products and services which can help you gather useful feedback. A fan page can also be very informative by showcasing what you do. It also serves as a portal on a social network to your website. The most common and popular place to create a fan page is Facebook. If you don't have a fan page setup on Facebook, then this should be the first thing you do after reading this article.Reaching your CustomerSocial networks are a great place to reach and understand who your customers are and the best ways to relate your products and services to what they need.

Put up a Schedule of EventsIt’s easy and simple to create a calendar of events for all your fans and friends to see. You can post upcoming events in your company, events you are participating in, and events you are hosting for potential customers.Get People to Help YouInteract with people and get them involved with your business. You can easily talk with friends and customers who are more than willing to help promote you to their network. This is an easy way to get introduced to future customersGet Useful FeedbackSocial media is an ideal forum for interacting with customers and asking them for feedback. You don’t have to go anywhere…everyone is right there! Create a discussion, ask for feedback; the tools are at your disposal.Targeting your ConsumerSome social networks provide you the ability to run advertisements that target a specific group. You can run ads that are shown to people by location, age, and more. Facebook's advertising panels allow you to customize your ad, demographic, and view statistics on who viewed and clicked them.

SEOCreating a fan page that uses your company name can improve your search engine rankings. Social media marketing should be a part of an overall Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy.