With the explosion of social media usage and the smartphone and wearable tech revolution, social networks have become an important platform for businesses to engage with customers, moving away from traditional forms of marketing. Nikolaos Tsiakmakis of The SMF Group (http://thesmfgroup.co.uk/) looks at the challenges faced by businesses today when trying to build their own strategies, and offers tips to get you started on your own social media marketing strategy. Presented at the Cambridge Alternative Networking event (http://www.cambscan.co.uk/) on 13 August 2014.