Research and consulting firm Chadwick Martin Bailey just announced the results of its recent study about social media usage, saying that Facebook fans and Twitter followers of particular brands are much more likely to buy from those brands, and to recommend them to others. Well, duh! The fact that 60 percent of Facebook fans and 79 percent of Twitter followers feel this way is much like saying that those who buy season tickets for the Boston Red Sox root for the team. What’s far more important to know is who convinced them to buy the tickets, and how.

Facebook and Twitter are great viral marketing tools, yes, but before these post and tweets start performing their viral magic for the companies, blogs, sites, services and products that are the subject of the social messages, someone has to be convinced to tweet, retweet and post. Or, if it’s the company itself doing the social networking, how they do it, and how often, are crucial. Telling business executives that they need Facebook followers and Twitter followers without guiding them about things such as the 80/20 rule (do you know what this is? If not, don’t post your profile until we tell you. Read on.) is like telling them to go make a first-time impression without teaching them the fundamentals of a good impression.

Oh, the 80/20 rule: 80 percent of the time you post to a social site you should be providing free help, information, entertainment, links and so forth; anything self-serving should only make up 20 percent of all your posts.

On this topic, we’re delving right now into the results for auto dealers of their social media efforts. Watch for the helpful tips in an upcoming CIR.