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Everyone knows the names of the social media powerhouses: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, with MySpace dwindling but still holding a significant share of participants.

But have you heard of any of these? Maybe one or two like Classmates.com, but the other few hundred on that list are probably new to you. And it’s far from exhaustive. It’s even left off major names like Squidoo (run by famous marketing Guru Seth Godin) and Virb, a network for artists of all types. Some estimates put the number of social networking sites at around 250,000.

My point is this: social media is a gigantic, expansive field. Too big for even the largest companies to leverage as a whole. For small companies like you and me to take advantage of it, there needs to be some strategic thinking. Here are some things to keep in mind either before embarking on a social media marketing push, or if you think your social media marketing needs to be re-evaluated:

1. Do Your Research yes, Facebook and twitter have b0-jillions of users. But if you’re in a niche market, one of the smaller, more focused networks might be a better place for you to spend your time.

2. Be Honest with Yourself You could spend all day on social networking, but that means all your other duties go by the wayside. Before embarking on a social media campaign, think about how much time each day you will be realistically able to spend on it.

3. Get Your Messaging Straight Social networks are fast paced. People will decide whether you are worth ‘friending’ or ‘following’ in just a couple of seconds. Before you get out into the fray, make sure you know how you’re going to introduce yourself. Make sure you’ve got a good reason for people to stick with you.

4. Decide How You Will Add Value Social Media is all about adding value to your friends and followers. You need to have a few different ways ready before you start communicating. And beware of ‘interesting’. Sharing ‘interesting’ thoughts or articles doesn’t count as adding value. You can do it, but don’t rely on your audience to have the same interests as you do.