An essential part of social media is having a strategic plans that addresses why a company wants to do social media, the goals and objectives, how success will be defined, who's going to make social media happen, and how it will be integrated into sales and marketing activities.

So is was pretty surprising to see a recent study by Digital Brand Expressions in which 78% of respondents said they are using social media but only 41% have a strategic plan.

At first blush, it seems bizarre that companies could embrace social media without a strategic plan – something that is probably applied to other parts of the business.

Of course, it goes without saying that not having strategic plan is a huge mistake but many companies are jumping into social media armed with enthusiasm but, unfortunately, little else.

It explains why many companies are frustrated and disappointed when their social media efforts fail to make an impact. This often causes them to withdraw from social media, which is another mistake.

Like any business activity, social media needs a strategic plan before for it to be launched. Given its importance and need, companies need to invest the time and effort to go through this process. It may be a necessary evil because a strategic plan takes time to create but it has to happen.