So true, @Anand. You really have to figure out what you want to do with social media first before you can begin any voyage, otherwise you'll run into problems fast -- and probably publicly.

There are some amazingly sophisticated tools available out there that enable businesses to do so much with social media

@Alison, true, there are many sophisticated tools available but most important thing for the companies is to identify the role of social media plan in the companies growth. If the company is convinced about the role of the social media then they can consult service companies that specialize in this.

There are some amazingly sophisticated tools available out there that enable businesses to do so much with social media -- but that does mean companies have to develop a social media plan, as you say. The good news is that there are service companies that specialize in this, too, so it doesn't mean a small or midsize business has to suddenly add social media marketing to their list of capabilities. Lots of options, lots of great tools!

Obviously, it's a lot more sophisticated than that!

@Alison, yes social media initiatives doesnt mean creating a Facebook page and a Twitter handle, its more sophisticated than that. Companies should also plan methods by which they are going to analyze the data which  they collect through social media channels.

Good question, Mashka, and I believe (although I'd have to do some digging to find the facts to support my semi-educated guess) that although a lot of companies/brands are either shifting or adding more marketing/ad funds to their social media initiatives, some are totally new to advertising and/or public relations. That's why we've seen some really ham-fisted social media efforts, unfortunately, led by companies who think social media initiatives simply mean creating a Facebook page and a Twitter handle. Obviously, it's a lot more sophisticated than that!

May be my questions are a bit off topic, but when I was reading this  great post I was thinking-

More and more business invest their money in social media- we can call it in different ways, but it's still an advertising or PR, so do these companies  keep investing in traditional media channels and..

Is it correct to consider that social media investsments are  made also by  companies that have never ever made any other  investsments  or, it's just a turn of the strategy- those who had invested  previously , just changed their  channels?

To quote Bendtec Tom Dickson:  "Will it blend?"

I think the most important aspect of IBM's newest offering will be how well it blends existing social networks into its own HR-based one along with marketing's social offerings.  Unless I'm reading the article wrong, it sounds like that's the goal but with how cranky social networks have gotten with working together lately, it still remains to be seen in my eyes.

Even if it does blend the social networks, the next challenge is blending down those silos so the right information is shared across departments.  That's more an organization's climate issue, but it'd be nice to see if the software encourages it.