Since the rise of the Twitter beast I’ve seen countless companies jump on to Twitter and claim to have a “social media presence”. Now Twitter is just one step and I can’t take anything away from these companies for making an effort, however Twitter is just one of several tools that companies can utilize to make a move to add social media to their overall brand strategy.
If I were to suggest to a company how to setup an online brand the three tools I would recommend would be Facebook, Twitter, and a blog. Facebook is NOT just for the tweens, Twitter doesn’t seem to be lapsing after its 15 minutes of fame, and well blogs are here to stay.
Twitter is a perfect micro-blogging tool with built in search capability to keep an eye on your company in a global sense, also a great way to start and add to conversations that your company wants to be part of.  Also, Twitter is great for letting people know about new blog posts, or events coming up at your company. Launch a new product or tool, make a tweet. Make a new post on your blog, let your followers on Twitter and Facebook know.
Facebook. Yes, that may make some people grimace. The super social media behemoth isn’t just for high school and college kids anymore. With the ability for companies to create custom pages to promote and gain fans, Facebook becomes a must-have for companies looking to make their mark in social media. Once again these custom fan pages are a great place to keep fans up to date on your blog posts and the goings on at your company. If your company has a web developer on staff or you work with a web agency, it may be beneficial to try to use a Facebook Application called Static FBML to create customized tabs on your fan page to really make it stand out from the crowd.
Your blog. If you don’t have one, get one. A company blog is the single best way to give your company a sounding booth. If you just want to post about product updates or company events, that works. If you have a member of your company who is a pundit or well known figure in your company’s field, let them have a voice. A blog gives your company a voice. In today’s internet, a company without a voice is silent.
If your company can correctly balance and use the three tools listed you should be able to start, influence, and be part of the global conversation. Not only to these three tools help your company build a search engine presence but also helps to break down the wall between your company (your brand) and the consumer.