If you are interested in reaching - and expanding - your audience through online communications, it's best to start with a modest plan you can easily expand. It's also best to stick with methods that have now become mainstream. E-Newsletters, blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter can help you communicate directly with those you want to hear your message.

An example: Dell credits Twitter for helping boost sales by more than $3 million since 2007. That's miniscule considering Dell reported $61 billion in revenue in fiscal 2008. What's significant is Dell investing time on Twitter - for a pay off not just in the future, but now.

Trends are well documented on the pace of entry into new forms of media. One study, by the private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS), predicts total communications spending will be $882.6 billion in 2009 and grow to $1 trillion over the next five years. These new forms of communications typically are on the upswing as traditional advertising to mass audiences declines.

Your decisions, of course, depend on the needs of your organization. The take-away: You can get started and can document the increased traffic to your website at costs that won't scare your boss. By experimenting and finding what works best for your organization, you can expand in this burgeoning new medium at the pace that makes sense for your organization's goals - and budget.

SunLit Communications has significant experience working with national and local organizations of all sizes to extend their reach through online communications. View our service sheet to see how SunLit Communications can help you achieve your goals.

Diane Evans is a former columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal and Knight Ridder Newspapers/Tribune News Service and is now working in digital media. She can be reached at diane.evans@sunlitcommunications.com.

SunLit Communications has done a significant amount of market research regarding social media applications and their future effect on content production and potential advertising revenue.

Below are some of our findings:

Just how fast is digital media growing? Check out "Did You Know 4.0" to find out. Did you know more video was uploaded to YouTube during a two-month period in 2009 than if ABC, NBC and CBS had been airing content continuously since 1948? You do know.