subject: Getting Started With Social Media [print this page] Companies and marketers cannot escape social media anymore. In the last several months, social media have really taken the business world by storm. Social media have been around for at least a decade. But it has really taken off in the last several months and companies have really started taking advantage of them and gaining benefits from them. And because social media have really gained so much publicity, more people are really becoming interested in using them. If you are new at using social media, here are some tips you can follow to jump start your social media use:
* Use social media to distribute information- you can use social media to publish information online as well as promote the contents that you have created. You can start a blog. The blog can contain any information you want to discuss. You can also publish photos online using Flicker or other photo sharing networks. Then you can use Face book and Twitter to promote your blog and Flicker. You can use You Tube to publish video contents and you can also use videos to promote the other contents that you create. What's great about social media is that it's so easy to cross-promote and you don't have to spend a ridiculous amount of money publishing and promoting contents.
* Make sure you effectively target your market- use language and a voice that targets your clients so that all your efforts are not wasted.
* Use multiple channels- there is no rule that you can only use one social network. Use as many as social networks as you see fit for your business. Just make sure that you choose social media carefully. There are so many kinds of social networks so make sure that the ones you choose are the ones that will really bring value to your business.
* Don't jump in the conversations right away- make sure you listen first and see what conversations are worth joining and how you can actually say the right things online.
* Engage clients in conversations- keep social media social. Do not take away the conversations and the interactions they are what keep social media going. Make sure that you provide value to the people in your network through useful information, promos and other ways so that they will keep following you and so that you can establish strong relationships with the clients and really gain the benefits of social media.
