When you're crafting a blog post or choosing which 160 characters will make up your next tweet, where does the content come from? Do you decide that it's time for a social media update and then come up with some ideas? Or do you have a message to share and decide that social media is a good venue for it?

Too many businesses are doing the former, not the latter. They decide that social media is cool and necessary because everyone else is doing it. So, with nothing remarkable to share, they take to the 'twittersphere' and start typing. There's no overall strategy and very little thought put into the individual posts.

Even though it's free and easy to update, spend some extra time before blasting your next message. Would it be different if you had to pay for it? Pretend your YouTube videos are as valuable as Superbowl ads; your blog posts are Huffington Post articles; your social media updates are billboards in New York City. If you are generating content worthy of these venues, it's very likely that fans and friends are going to be talking about it and sharing it. If you're not sure that you can generate content this good, consider hiring a freelance writer or marketing professional. Because even though the medium is free, you can't afford to waste it.