By Emily Greenhalgh
PBN Web Editor

With more than 618 million active, daily Facebook users, 500 million registered Twitter handles and more than 200 million LinkedIn profiles, it’s easy to see why companies from boutiques to big-box stores have realized the importance of a strong online presence in today’s society.

But after joining the world of the Web, attracting followers and cultivating “likes,” many companies find themselves asking “What now?” That’s what the panelists at the third annual Providence Business News Social Media & Marketing Summit hope to answer.

The summit – which will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Feb. 27 – will feature two panels of marketing, social media, information technology and legal professionals. They will tackle the big questions related to the challenges and potential of social media in today’s business.

Social media often promises to be a fast and definitive solution to companies’ marketing efforts, but panelist Christopher Ciunci, CEO and founder of marketing and consulting firm TribalVision, said more often than not, this just isn’t the case.

“If companies decide to focus all their efforts on the sexiness of social media, they’re going to be disappointed,” said Ciunci, adding that in order to really be successful in social media, companies need to focus on the nitty-gritty aspects of the technology.

“It’s wonderful that you can be building up your likes and fan page, and Facebook is coming out with so many different tools for you to use, but in order for you to be successful in social media it’s about the nonsexy, it’s the block and tackling, it’s about monitoring the social media in your industry … and starting to engage in conversation,” said Ciunci.

“It’s not just setting up a nice-looking, lined in page, that’s just the beginning,” said Ciunci. “It’s so much more than putting some lipstick on your website.”