Juniors Andy Hill and Rob Johnson, are the founders of TalkToMe Media, a social media marketing firm that represents small to midsize businesses on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

When they moved into Garden Apartments last year, the two then-sophomores realized the increasing use of social media for promotional needs directed at college-aged consumers.

"My mom couldn't even upload a photo," Hill said. "From that misfortune came the idea for TalkToMe."

With so few businesses using a social marketing strategy, Hill, an entrepreneurship and marketing major, and Johnson, a sports management major with a minor in in business administration, decided to step in.

"With 96 percent of Generation Y consumers on some form of social network, why wouldn't they have a page," Hill said. "Especially since it's a quicker, more efficient means of promotion."

According to Hill, it is essential for businesses to use social networking channels to attract existing and potential consumers, and a cost efficient, effective way is through social media. In fact, Hill and Johnson found that 78 percent of consumers trust peer recommendations, and only 14 percent accept the traditional advertising methods.

TalkToMe Media began its first campaign with a Dayton business, Key Sports. This event-coordinating organization helps local charities and businesses create 5K running events and works with UD students to establish the Frericks 5K Run.

Although each organization is different and therefore has different marketing strategies, TalkToMe Media creates, establishes and continues to manage Facebook, Twitter, Digg and Mixx pages for each company.

"We develop customized tabs to better differentiate their page from any other," Hill said.

For Key Sports, TalkToMe focused on event coordination, allowing consumers to easily interact with the companies and enhance the availability of information to key publics.

Two fundamental qualities unique to TalkToMe Media are that the students continue to update and manage the social networks as well as increase consumer interaction.

According to Hill and Johnson, they turn a client's networking page from an uninteresting forum to an interactive opportunity to talk to clients and gain new ones.

TalkToMe Media has provided a positive learning experience and compensation, Hill and Johnson said. It now consists of the two UD juniors and a student at Ohio State University, and they are in the process of interviewing new hires. The students continue to market themselves and are hoping to take on three additional clients within the next month. Hill and Johnson both said this company will be a large part of their post-graduation future.

"It's one of those businesses you can do from home," Johnson said. "Social media is continuing to grow, and if it has as much success as we see for it, we could be doing this for a long time."

To learn more about TalkToMe Media, go to http://www.talktomemedia.com.