Businesses are constantly hearing about the new “hot” site or the success of someone else in social media and think they too should be jumping right in there.   What people fail to see is that social media isn’t something you become great at overnight.  These success stories didn’t happen because someone at the company simply signed up.

Social media takes work and it can certainly be overwhelming to get started with.  The good news is that there are a number of people out there who know what they are talking about.

I have collected 32 of the best tips from some really smart folks out there on using social media:

1. Be an Active Participant
2. Be Yourself, Not Just Your Business
3. Have a Complete Social Media Profile
4. Do not ignore the simple concept of “transparency”
5. Have a nice photo – meaning one that represents you
6. Engage in conversation, don’t dominate it
7. Use the same avatar for each service
8. Being present is not enough
9. Don’t do it until you are ready to execute and follow through
10. Know why you’re using a service
11. Test the waters
12. Think execution before activation
13. Understand your targeted social media channel
14. Make sure you set your baseline and determine your goals
15. Focus – Pick a handful of services and sites to put a lot of energy into
16. Embrace experimentation as a way of life
17. Give Your Program Resources
18. Make it easy for people to share and bookmark your content
19. Be grateful to those that refer to your brand, even when negative
20. Don’t spam
21. Help Out Others
22. Give away your own knowledge
23. Give More than You Receive
24. If you mess up, say sorry fast
25. Influence the Influencers
26. Never pitch your business
27. One Size Does NOT Fit All
28. Stay Committed
29. Submit it & forget it
30. Create a Friending Strategy
31. Respect the user’s time
32. Reward Your Audience

There is so much information out there on social media, getting started and being successful but I would definitely recommend visiting the websites referenced above.  These tips come from some great authors and experts in the industry.

Related KoMarketing Posts on Social Media:

• Six Key Elements of an Effective Social Media Strategy
• Why Social Media Scares Me…and Why You Should Use It
• 5 Ways To Make Social Media A Part of Everyday Business Strategy

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 5:06 pm and is filed under B2B, Brand Management, Social Media Strategies. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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