It is a widely regarded fact in business that failing to engage on social media means shutting the door on valuable stakeholder engagement. In 2014 alone, every 60 seconds saw 3.3 million Facebook posts, 342,000 tweets and 41,000 Instagram posts – a number which is constantly growing. And with so many of your existing or potential customers, employees, shareholders and competition online, can you afford to miss out?

The beauty of social media is not merely that you can reach out and engage with the online world, but that it can be used as a tool to identify and understand your target audience, build strong relationships – or even communities – and establish your business as a thought leader in its field. So how do you do that? Functions such as Facebook’s “Insights” provide information on those accessing or “liking” your posts, which means you can easily categorise your audience by gender, age or even who is most active individually. This information can make a world of difference in streamlining market strategy and knowing how to get attention from prospective clients.

Small gestures, such as posting links to interesting articles on hot topics in your field and focusing on content creation, can generate attention and traffic from a whole number of places. Those discovering your business, either through the platform itself, referrals, or by stumbling upon something interesting posted under your business name, are more likely to remember your posts if they are both insightful and engaging. So investing time in what you send is just as important as actually sending it.

However, attracting business through social media is not always this simple. Unless your brand image is strong and you have established trust in your audience, attempts to entice custom can crumble. So consistency of image is key – whichever mediums you use, be they Facebo