There are many different social networks available. Seven of them have over 100 million unique visitors every month; Facebook (900 million), Twitter (310 million), LinkedIn (255 million), Pinterest (250 million), Google+ (120 million), Tumblr (110 million) and Instagram (100 million). All of them offer quick, cost-effective and direct ways to market a company’s services and products. It only takes a smartphone, tablet or computer to get started. However, to be successful, you need a strategy and clearly defined business goals. With those in place, your efforts do not have to take up much of your time, and the return on investment potential is vast.

Here are some recent findings and pointers that might be useful to remember, if, or when you use social networks.

• Images in your Facebook posts get twice the engagement as text-only posts.
• Images in tweets get 35% more retweets.
• Forget the saying ‘mobile first’, social media is all about ‘consumer first’.
• Do not be a megaphone—interact and communicate.
• The blog is far from dead—57% of companies with a blog on their website have acquired customers this way.
• If all else fails, send a good old text message/sms; over 95% of these are opened and read, 85% within one hour.