5 Tried and True Tips for Getting Started with Social Media

Social media is a hugely popular marketing channel for B2C and B2B businesses. However, jumping into social media for the first time can be a little intimidating. To help reduce the anxiety related to getting your company involved in the social media sphere, here are some of our tried and true tips for getting started with social media.

1. Make sure you’re where your audience is. This might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s one of the most important tips on our list. If you’re active on social media sites that your target audience doesn’t frequent then you’re not doing yourself any favors and you’re most likely making more work for yourself than necessary. We suggest you do some research, find out where your key customers take part in conversations, and then get yourself to those sites as quickly as possible!
2. Promote your presence.  Once you’ve decided which sites to take part in and have created your accounts, it’s important to promote your presence. Adding links to your social media accounts on your website, in your email campaigns, and adding a “share-this” button to your site are great ways to drive traffic to your accounts. 
3. Don’t focus on selling. Focus on Relationships. Many companies that are just getting started with social media spend too much time trying to  sell their product by pushing coupons, offers, company news and information related only to their business, rather than providing content that will educate their followers and build relationships. While this might get more information about your company out in the social sphere,  it will also most likely annoy your followers, and it certainly won’t make you a go-to resource or improve your followers' opinions about your brand. 
4. Don’t worry about the numbers. Many times companies that are starting out in social media worry too much about their number of followers, mistakenly believing that a large following means a beneficial social media presence. What they should actually be focusing on is the relevance of their following and building authentic relationships with people who are genuinely interested in what their company has to say.
5. Don’t forget the niche websites. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of niche social media websites where you can promote your brand and make connections. Make sure you do your research to see if there are any relevant niche sites for your industry. Many times these sites have a smaller user-base so it can be easier to become an influencer on them than the big ones like Twitter or Facebook.

Posted by Amberlie Denny at July 12, 2010 8:00 AM

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