IF THE KEY to business success is building a raft of loyal customers that, say, frequent your store over another's, then social-networking web sites are increasingly useful tools for getting them there.

Online social networks, which are interactive groups where people typically post information about themselves and connect through common interests such as schooling and political ideologies, attract millions of users a day. In February alone, Facebook logged more than 30 million unique visitors in the U.S., while News Corp.'s MySpace, the largest social-networking site, claimed nearly 68 million. (News Corp. is co-owner of SmartMoney.com.) Overall, social networks welcomed about 121 million unique U.S. visitors last month, up 14% from nearly 107 million the year before, according to research firm comScore.

Within social media, a growing number of users are latching on to "niche" sites that cater to any number of specific interests, such as Chowhound.com (eating), LibraryThing.com (books) and Yelp.com (trends in specific cities). Niche sites typically give visitors the opportunity to size up various products and services, which can influence other users' buying decisions. That type of user-generated content carries huge potential for small businesses, says David Silver, author of "Smart Start-Ups," a book about profiting from online communities. A small business that has, for example, a well-received product on social networks can ascend in the ranks while larger companies, which may have big marketing budgets but subpar products, can easily sink.

If you're not using social networking to reach potential customers, it's time to start. Some business owners post information about their products or services to group message boards while others send out relevant information via targeted email blasts. Others even create their own forums around specific ideas or causes. No matter which avenue you choose, here's a general roadmap for getting connected via social networks:

Set Goals

Your first step in using social-networking platforms is to figure out what you hope to achieve, says Jay Deragon, the co-author of "The Emergence of The Relationship Economy." For instance, he says, business owners who want to increase their profiles globally might opt for sites like Bebo, which is big in the U.K., or Friendster, which has emerged as a favorite in Southeast Asia.

Jessica Elsas, the founder of Soft, a line of clothing for kids with sensory disorders, and a special education teacher in New York, says her mission online is threefold. In addition to raising seed money, Elsas is currently using her profiles on about seven social networks to build awareness of her business so that when Soft's e-commerce store launches in December there will be sufficient demand for her products. Using social networks "has helped me build a very relevant database of people who are connected and interested in my business," she says.

Lastly, Elsas is using networks such as MySpace, YouTube and Google's general networking site, Orkut, to generate invaluable market research. "If I find someone with a child who has a sensory disorder, I send them a survey," she says. "It's my hope that people will connect to me as an individual as well as eventually to my products."

Pick a Platform

Once you know what you want to achieve, "you absolutely have to have a clear understanding of the audience that you're going to target," says Jeffrey Carr, a marketing professor at New York University's Stern School of Business. While using a variety of sites can help spread the word, it's also time-consuming to create profiles, take part in discussions and respond to messages. Rather than waste your time and energy marketing to groups that don't care, pick the most appropriate networks for your specific business needs, he says.

This, however, is no easy task. According to some estimates, there are about 600 social-networking sites and thousands more groups or forums online. Some business owners are finding success by picking one or two of the most popular web destinations (such as MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn) but also concentrating on the niche networks.

Take, for instance, John Sharpe, the founder of ARG Financial Staffing in Knoxville, Tenn., who's using LinkedIn and Facebook to advertise opportunities for employment with his firm's clients. But Sharpe also says he depends heavily on the Financial Executives Networking Group or TheFeng.org, a forum for financial executives, for a highly targeted pool of would-be recruits. "TheFeng.org is the hottest thing right now in the financial executive search role," he says. "I would suspect that the sites like TheFeng — and others that have become niched — are going to become highly successful."

Stop Pitching

Once you're online, don't forget there's a certain etiquette when it comes to social networking. The biggest mistake businesses make is: "They jump into social networks and all they do is sell, sell, sell," says author Deragon. Instead, the big question that should be in business owner's minds is how to engage, he says.

Since 1998, boat-parts retailer iboats.com of Draper, Utah, has hosted an online community where boating enthusiasts can convene to discuss issues ranging from how to rid a boat's hull of barnacles to where to find out-of-stock parts. "We have 4.5 million pages of content," says Bruno Vassel IV, iboats.com's co-founder. "That content is like building a huge mall where people love to walk up and down the aisles." Because of the forum, "customers view us as trying to help," he says. "If you are inauthentic in life and on the Internet, they will see through you."

At the end of the day, says Carr from NYU, "people buy products and services because it makes their lives better." To use these platforms effectively, no matter your sales goals, throw out the sales pitch. Instead, he urges business owners to engage users on an honest level and "actually show how there is actual value there that is within the context of the site that you're using."

For other tips on devising a successful social networking strategy click here.

Other recent Starting Up columns:

• Starting Up: Avoiding Business Audits
• Starting Up: Entrepreneurial Buzzwords

("Starting Up," a weekly column written by Diana Ransom for smSmallBiz.com, follows entrepreneurs through the early stages of launching a business. Write to her at dransom@smartmoney.com.)