This is not a stone-etched, foolproof guide for making your business’ social media campaign rival that of a Fortune 500 company. What we can give you, however, are some simple strategic points that we've found helpful to get you started on your own social media adventures. Of course if you do need a little help, feel free to give us a call.

The Mindset

It really helps to keep in mind why you’re doing this in the first place. If you manage to think of the relationships that can be cultivated, rather than just the constantly growing slew of new platforms you have to keep up with, you’ll be well on your way to “getting” social media.

Twitter

1. The whole point of Twitter is to offer bite size bits of engaging information. Ask yourself if what you are providing in your tweets is in some way informative, useful, or at the very least entertaining to your customers. If all you are doing is plugging your own services or promotional material 24/7, you should take the time to come up with some new material.

2. Promote others. One of the best ways to gather a following is by re-tweeting posts that you have found to be informative. Most social media experts agree that about 50% of your tweets should be from a different source of conversation. The idea is communication, so don’t just retweet a link without telling your followers what your take on it is.

3. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t have 5,000 followers right off the bat. Executing an effective social media strategy takes time and dedication; it’s not going to happen overnight. Just consider your target communities, put a unique touch on your material, and keep updating! You’ll get there soon enough.

Facebook

1. You should be the one who posts on your own feed the most often. If others are fielding questions that have been posed or leaving more comments than you yourself have been, step up your activity. If you don’t have the time for it, delegate update tasks to employees or consider hiring a specialist to handle these duties.

2. As with Twitter, you can’t just toot your own horn all the time. There are appropriate outlets for your latest sale, but Facebook does not happen to be one of them. Instead, realize that you are competing for attention in a customer’s feed with their friends and post the most interesting content you can.

3. Are people responding to your posts? If not, try putting yourself in a customer’s shoes. Consider questions that people frequently ask at your business, and how you would answer them in person. Now write that down, and, hey, there’s your post for today.

Please let us know if you think that any of this has been enlightening. Disagree? Share that, too. we'd love to get any tips that you might have, as well, so check out our Facebook and Twitter profiles in the links in our footer. Thanks!

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