Social media’s influence on our lives and businesses will continue to grow exponentially in 2012.

And that means whether or not you choose to embrace it, as well as how you use it, will continue to affect your bottom line. As social media began to gain more and more traction over the last decade, it emerged as a credible avenue for retailers to attract followers, as well as share deals with consumers.

However, as the medium continues to evolve, “making social central to the shopping experience is still a largely untapped way to drive sales and increase margins,” according to Mashable.com’s seven social media predictions for 2012.

The social media news blog believes more businesses will set up shop within the walls of Facebook, personalize their e-commerce sites based on a consumer’s Facebook and Twitter taste graph, and increase participation in second-tier social networks like Tumblr and Pinterest where users organically share their purchases and wish lists.

Have you been able to successfully attract followers to your social media platforms, and how do you plan to evolve this year?

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