As a closed community, Facebook (www.facebook.com) does not rank in the search engines and makes the best choice if you want to have a personal profile online. However, optimizing your Facebook profile with your business keyword can make it an invaluable marketing effort.

Directions: Optimize your Facebook profile with one keyword and become the “go-to” expert in the floral industry for the more than 22 million Facebook users. Also, include some personal touches, but beware of putting too much personal information online.

As an open community, MySpace (www.myspace.com) ranks well in the search engines and, more importantly, allows businesses to have fully developed profiles, including personally designed backgrounds.

Directions: In addition to optimizing your profile with a keyword, you also can search for your target audience in MySpace “Friends” and create an amazing outreach network.

The main video-sharing platform, YouTube (www.youtube.com) is one of the best forums available to create a “viral” marketing campaign (a campaign that gains widespread popularity through Internet sharing, typically via e-mail or instant messaging, blogs, and other media-sharing Web sites). From publishing video testimonials from your customers to creating social proof of your abilities, YouTube videos are a great way to get other site owners to link to your Web site.

Directions: Each new video is another opportunity to optimize for a different keyword. For each video, include your keyword in the title and at least once in the description section.

If you have the time or desire to create only one social media platform, a blog should be at the top of your list. (Enter “Start a blog” or “Create a blog” into your favorite search engine to find help on starting a blog.) Blogs give users a few distinct advantages over the other platforms that make them absolutely invaluable in the world of Internet marketing. First, search engines love blogs. They have plenty of content and are easy for the spiders to crawl and categorize online. Second, consumers love blogs. They aren’t hard-sales but instead are a mix of marketing and education that online shoppers trust. Third, every blog is a new opportunity for you to go after a new keyword. Whether you want to dominate a search page with one particular keyword or just have a presence under a different keyword, a blog is a free and easy way to get you there.

Directions: As with a YouTube video, every blog is a new keyword opportunity. Using a keyword tool, select your keyword before writing. Then, include your keyword in the title and throughout the content, but never sacrifice consumer experience. Also, be advised that repeating a keyword too many times will show up as spam in the search engines.

The newest, hottest rage, Twitter (www.twitter.com) is a micro blog that limits posts to 140 characters. Although you’ll typically hear the most skepticism about Twitter, it can be an amazing tool for your business. Twitter plug-ins allow you to update Twitter and literally push it out to your other platforms, such as Facebook. Additionally, Twitter posts rank in the search engines.

Directions: Select one keyword, and include that in all your Twitter posts. Also, personalize your Twitter background for a totally unique and branded look and feel.