One-way communication such as magazine ads and commercials no longer have the same impact they did in the past. Today, companies are practicing two-way communication by engaging in conversation with their customers and delivering content before the consumer even requests it. Most companies will need to reevaluate their marketing in 2010.

Consumers these days are smarter and are easier annoyed, so the more your company pushes your product/services on consumers, the more you will push them away. You have to be more of a friend to develop a relationship with your consumers, and ultimately, gain their trust.

These personal relationships with your consumer can be developed by utilizing free or low-cost social media applications and platforms. A few examples would be blogs and podcasting to social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

The few examples of Social Media sites I have provided here allow your company to engage current and potential customers through the use of strategically placed conversations that engage the audience and provide immediate feedback. This two-way engagement builds a level of trust between the company and consumer needed to succeed in today's market.

These free social media sites can also be used to monitor your company's internet reputation, reveal what competitors are using as marketing, develop a consumer research program and even develop partnerships with other companies.

Flaky consumers are being weeded out and only prospective consumers are being reached with targeted messages that cost a fraction of the old expensive advertising campaigns. Since social media marketing and public relations efforts result in immediate feedback and measurable results, marketing campaigns can be quickly assessed to see if they are working or not.

Most businesses believe that online marketing is about how cool their website looks. Although having a nice website is a start, you need to know that it is more than that. Your website needs to be informative and engaging. A productive website should not be stale and should be consistently updated. Most web designers agree that your content should be fresh and your visitors' reactions should be measured and reviewed. This action will help your business keep your website competitive and more viable.

A social media strategy is formed by watching and listening carefully to consumers before it is developed. The best way to implement a social media strategy is to find an expert to do it for you. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of social media platforms available today and sorting through them all searching for the best fit for your company is a tough and time consuming undertaking. You need to find someone that can evaluate your current marketing efforts and suggest the best tools to push your business to the top. When searching for a social media management company, check to ensure that your company is not being outsourced to underpaid and unqualified workers. Remember, it's your company's image at risk here.