The rise of social networks has changed forever the way people allocate their free time. The average millennial spends 50% more time online than his peers did only a decade ago. Watching TV, once the undisputed American pastime, has been steadily losing ground to online viewing. Given the increasing amount of time that people spend online, companies realize they need to incorporate social media into their marketing plans right from the beginning. There are several points of action where social media integration can help: from strategy to customer service, from branding and promotion to market research and survey. Although social media by itself may not be enough for a successful marketing campaign, in combination with other tools, it can prove to be a substantial way to augment your marketing mix. You can integrate social media with search marketing efforts to promote and drive your brand’s presence across the web. Social media tools like Tweetdeck, Likeable Hub and Sendible are more effective when they are part of a digital strategy in line with your organizational goals. Developing such a strategy will require that you identify your target audience, optimize your presence for the best social media channel and ensure that you set achievable and measurable goals. Because there are so many social media tools out there, it can get be a little overwhelming for companies to decide which ones to use. Some of the most popular platforms are Hootsuite , Buffer, and Sprout Social. When using a social media tool for a particular marketing strategy, connect it with an achievable desirable customer-related objective. For example, its usage should increase chances of customers opting to purchase or some other kind of measurable objective. “Secret tip”: at Art of Digital we love twitter and our favorite twitter management tool is a lesser known platform from an Australian company called Manage Flitter .