Owning your own home based business is difficult enough without having to be worried about finding the perfect balance of marketing strategies. Stick solely to traditional marketing strategies and you’ll discover that you are potentially missing a huge demographic.

Attempt to milk the internet for all it’s worth and you’ll end up completely overwhelmed by the number of tools and application readily available for internet marketing. But what if you used social media sites as a happy medium between traditional and hard-core Internet marketing strategies? Using this one tool might make an enormous difference in your business without overwhelming you altogether.

Here are 5 ways to get started using social media in your marketing strategy.

1. Create a Strategy. Your competitors have already created a strategy for using social media, so odds are you’re currently behind. This means thinking intentionally about utilizing social media instead of randomly opening an account here and joining a group there. Spend some time identifying the types of sites available and evaluating what part they could have in your marketing strategy. Then make a plan to use them consistently and effectively. If you just “go with the flow” you will be wasting your time and effort.

2. Brand Building. Social media marketing is like having one enormous announcement advertising your company. Everything you post, every tweet you write, and every comment you make should be treated as an opportunity to show your audience what your business is all about, what you value, and what you stand for.

The first step to think about is creating a company blog. Chances are you have employees who are already associated in social media in some way, so ask them to post some articles to the blog. Make sure your blog includes your logo, a picture of yourself, and any other tools that will help you promote your brand. Use your company’s colors as background on your blog and as wallpaper on your Twitter profile.

3. Choose Wisely. Don’t think that you have to use every single social media site available. Stay with a few and spend time using them to your benefit. Choose sites that help you interact with your target demographic. This should help you show off the aspects of your business that interest potential customers and that will be most helpful in connecting potential customers to your business.

4. Find the Correct Balance. Social media is so popular that it might initially be a challenge to find the right balance between it and traditional marketing strategies. Ultimately, they should all work together to serve your business successfully. Start with LinkedIn and create a business profile where you can post testimonials and make contacts with your customers. Then create a Facebook group tied to your industry or product.

Finally, use Twitter to generate a village of people with curiosity about your industry. Connect traditional strategies with online strategies by printing your Twitter ID on business cards and create a place on your website that shows visitors where they can connect with you using social media.

5. Mobility. Many platforms allow you to communicate instantly by downloading applications to your phone. Imagine what you could do as a business owner attending a conference. Sharing with your readers what you are learning, as you learn it, is a great way to build connection with and interest in your customers. Overwhelming or not, young people are exchanging information and making decisions based on social media sites.

If you’re interested in connecting with them as they age, obtain more discretionary income, and spend money on things that interest them, then you need to learn a way to connect with them now. And you need to ensure you’re defining your business online instead of waiting for others to define you in your stead. Get connected online and let the world know who you are.