Think back a decade and a half. Remember when you had to decide whether or not to invest in a company website? In the early and mid-1990s, it was hard convincing CFOs and other bottom line types that you should invest in a website. Benefits were nebulous and payback analysis was less than scientific.

Today’s a different story. Can you imagine running a company without a solid web presence? Social media is in exactly the same position.

Twitter

If you’re searching for one place to start, choose Twitter. After Ashton Kutcher’s and CNN’s highly public Spring ’09 race to a million Twitter followers, Twitter usage has been exploding. Twitter allows companies to distribute bite-sized relevant messages to the world. Click-through stats are highly trackable and occasionally a lead or two comes directly from a tweet.

Facebook

Facebook has rapidly moved beyond corporate relevance and into can’t-live-without-it status. Likeminded enthusiasts of your business can use Facebook to declare themselves “fans” of your company and engage in conversations with you, employees and other fans.

YouTube

With more than two billion views each day, Youtube offers a great opportunity for increased brand visibility. If you're interested in potentially expanding your brand's reach with just the click of an "upload" button, frequent and varied video content should be included as part of your social media game plan.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn has wonderful “business-friendly” discussion boards that many people prefer to Facebook or any other application.

Blogs

Blogging is wonderful for content creation and search engine indexing. Blogs used in combination with Twitter offer excellent brand visibility.

Your friends at GSI have an easy, effective and hopefully soon-to-be-proven method of positioning you and your company at the forefront of the social media movement.