Social media Web sites like Facebook and Twitter began as networking hubs for friends and family members. Seeing the successes of these online applications, enterprises and small businesses have joined the bandwagon, by building relationships with their customers online and marketing their brands to a new demographic. In this new form of marketing, companies have been challenged to develop a standard for measuring their return on investment. Since Facebook and Twitter allow for free participation, social media marketing has emerged as the quickest and easiest way for companies to market their product or service. Business professionals face a complicated dilemma, in which they must decide if social media marketing is worth the time investment put forth by their public relations practitioners. In order to appreciate social media as an effective marketing tool, public relations professionals must first establish a fundamental objective, coherent campaign and resulting efficiency standard before participating.

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