Danielle Brigida, National Wildlife Federation

As social media grows in popularity, one fact cannot be ignored: if used well, it can generate impressive amounts of traffic and increase engagement around your cause or organization. If ignored, however, it can lead to tears of anguish and people punching their computers.

I spend a lot (and I mean a lot) of time trying to figure out how to use social networking, bookmarking and news sites to enhance the National Wildlife Federation's online presence. The work I've been doing with my large non-profit can be translated to even the smallest message.

There are several key techniques for dispersing information effectively. These overall strategies aren't anything new in the marketing world: Social media is just a new way to do old business. The tools may have changed, but the need for knowing your audience, having an end goal, testing theories, and acting on lessons learned remains the same.