I am not the only person who sees the potential for social media to make a more significant contribution to a company’s business goals this year. But just like a toddler blossoming into childhood needs interaction and support from the family, social media will best develop as a significant contributor to the business by integrating it with already established marketing efforts.

Here are 5 steps any direct marketer can take to influence results across all channels:

1. Use Twitter as a vehicle for identifying and engaging with prospects.
2. Once engaged, invite your new follower to become a fan of your Facebook page.
3. Provide incentives on your Facebook page to add your new fan to your “traditional” marketing lists.
4. Support your email and offline efforts through your Facebook and Twitter messaging.
5. Invest in ways to measure ROI as a function of lifetime value.

Just like your any well-engined marketing strategy does not surface overnight, develop the expectation that your integrated social media strategy will evolve over time. A good place to start is understanding what’s happening on your Facebook page.

One last thing. Don’t ever forget the marketer’s credo—

Always be testing!