Just how powerful is social networking?

I manage an emergency and specialty veterinary clinic, and we seem to be above the curve when it comes to social networking (we have a blog, we have a Facebook page, but we don’t Tweet since I can’t really figure out how to make it work for us). I’ve now decided to embark upon an experiment – aggressive social networking. A local, upscale magazine is holding voting for its’ “Best Of” episode and we’re not even listed as an option (possibly because of a recent name change). I’m using e-mail, my employees, and Facebook to start a “write-in campaign” to see if we can win.

What’s your experience with social networking? How far can it go? What’s the best way to utilize it?

And if you want to help me with my experiment (please, please!), it’s easy to do. Go to this page, fill out the top, scroll down to “Best Veterinarian”, check the blank entry, type in “Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospital”, and then click “Submit”. I know it’s a bit self-promotional, so I got Auggie’s permission first :) Thanks ever so much!