As you get ready to jump into the social media marketing fray, the draw of just getting started can be powerful. The potential associated with this form of marketing is high, and the pressure to claim your space on the most visible social networks is intense. It’s also fraught with risk, especially if you leap before you look.

Want to make your corporate blog – and Facebook page and Twitter presence – a success? Here are four crucial objectives to focus on:

1. Publishing regularly: this may seem counter-intuitive, as it deals with your company, not your market. Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll find that both sides of the equation are affected. Without regular content, your market has no reason to engage. Further, it’s challenging to create interesting and useful content regularly, so you need to make that a clear goal.

Objective to set: frequency of publication

2. Engaging high-quality readers: what’s important is “high-quality,” not “high-volume.” You want readers who are likely to connect with you and use that as a first step in your sales cycle. A corporate blog should be intended, ultimately, to advance your business.

Objective to set: percentage of readers coming from companies in your target market, especially key accounts or targets

3. Leads are what matters: having the right readers is important, but you need to do something with them. If you can’t convert readers into qualified leads, your corporate blog is an exercise in talking at your market – not to it.

Objective to set: monthly/quarterly targets for demand generation

4. Mind your message: even though quantifiable business growth is crucial, as it is with any new business development endeavor, part of the purpose of a corporate blog is to position your company in the marketplace, which can help you generate leads in the future and make it easier to close sales. Use your blog to address the most important issues your clients face, and bolster your brand and reputation in the process.

Objective to set: create content that speaks to your market and positions your company as a genuine “solution” provider