Using social media effectively

The biggest hesitation you may have with social media is the time commitment it takes to really get into it. Here is a check list of items that will help you develop an efficient plan.
1, Set goals. What ultimately do you want to get out of this? What are the reasons you are involved? When you start out with a clear and articulated list of goals you will know the right strategies to get the most out of the social media avenue you subscribe to.
2, Decide what social media applications you want to be a part of. As I mentioned in previous posts Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin are the big dogs but maybe your target base is not present there. Consider local online communities and industry related ones. Bottom line: find where your customers and prospects are. If they are already fully engaged in a social network they are probably not going to leave it to find you – the ball is in your court.
3, Start slow. Once you figure out where your target base is sit back and listen to what is going on in the community. Get a feel for the environment. Once you have a good understanding of it start joining in the conversation.
4, Go ahead and make your presence known. Find key people you want to connect with and show your interest by engaging them. Share valuable content your company possesses. Post news, event invites, press releases, white papers, case studies meanwhile investing in your followers and key prospects. Again, remember to embrace your personality and share your story.
5, Look back over your goals. Are you following through with them? Have they changed? What expectations did you have in the beginning, what expectations do you have now. This check point will be an important one to continually come back to. You need to make sure that your valuable time is being spent well and your metrics are revealing that.
6, Don’t be a sales pitch. Listening and engaging the community around you will turn over more lasting relationships then a promotion centric mission. Social media is about relationships not how many followers your can attract. It is good to focus on growing your numbers but the process in which you do is the difference. Intentionally built relationships are more likely to increase your bottom line than pure promotion.
7, Pay close attention to your industry. Twitter applications such as Tweet Deck and Twitter.search.com allow you to search key words, companies and individuals. For example, if you search the keyword “email marketing” on Tweet Deck it will give you a log of the most recent posts that had that keyword in it. Going through each post, you can see what people are talking about the subject. You can do this same thing with individuals and companies. Find out who the leading professionals are and pay attention to the trends they introduce and follow. Determine if these are also important for you to get involved in.
8, Good content is good content. What you post on Facebook may not have to be exclusive just to Facebook. If it is good content share it everywhere. Services such as Friend Feed help you share your contact across your social media applications. Be mindful still of the uniqueness of each social media site. Some content is universal but also embrace each environment for what it is.
9, Pay close attention to your competitors. In the same way you can search industry key words and professionals, also find out what your competitors are up to. What are they doing that you are not and vice versa? Figure out how you can stand out among them as an industry expert and reliable source. However, always remember what your clientele’s needs are.
10, Encourage your follows to share. Encourage your followers to retweet, repost and start discussions about your content. Just the same, share your followers’ content.