Our Top Ten Tips For Starting A Social Media StrategyInformation - Communication  - BusinessThere is a great deal of information out there on the web and its advisable to read around and create a strategy that works for you. There are many statistics about social media and it's impact on businesses and we would advise you to look the latest ones up yourself, we wont bore you with stats in this blog...this time. There are a few basics though that you should definitely think about before investing your time in "going social".

    1. Your brand. it's important to get your company logo and color schemes incorporated into your online profiles. In this way you can more easily be recognised across your digital real estate at a glance. Your brand should also have at least one key message such as "we are 100% organic carrot farmers"...so long as its suitable for your business. Your message should be included in your regular communications. It's what you want to be known for so tell people about it! 2. Gather and list your sources of information. This will allow you to keep sharing informative material quickly and easily. There is a wealth of news and general information available to you to choose from but you might want to pick those with which you are most familiar and knowledgeable. For example if you are into IT you might want to share and comment on items from The Register, BBC Technology News, New Scientist Technology and so on. Four or five sources of information will suit most people. Check these every day and keep them as bookmarks for quick access. 3. Find where your audience are located. There are more than 450 social media sites catering for almost every topic, age group or personality you can think of. The most popular sites you will have heard of such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Blogger, Wordpress. Find the stats on each one by searching the internet and study how you can engage with the most relevant to your audience.  4. Understand where social media fits into your marketing plan. Social media should almost always be complimented with more regular types of marketing activity such as advertising, PR and business networking.  5. Recognise your objectives. Social media is there to engage, communicate, research and connect you with potential clients and other businesses. 6. Set a schedule for creating the plan and delivering content. If you spend one hour a day doing marketing then at least set aside part of that time for social media. Your most regular updates can be automated using social media management tools giving you more time to just engage with your audience.  7. Get others involved. If you have employees the chances are they will already be using social media in some format. Provide them with the access and some short guidelines on how to act. Find who your industry influences are and engage with them whether that be groups or individuals. 8. Get tooled up! There are some great, inexpensive social media management tools out there. Find one you can work with. We would recommend: Sprout Social, MarketMeSuite or Hootsuite. 9. Measure. You can use the tools mentioned above as well as your own website statistical package. Tools like TweetReach can give you some great feedback for free.  10. KISS. Keep it simple stupid; yes it's an old adage but it rings true. If you have a simple set of procedures to follow you can more easily measure the results from them. Treat each part of your strategy as an experiment, know your apparatus, methodology, predictions and results. And finally engage with your audience as much as possible. Social media is a two way conversation. Please comment on this post, add your own thoughts. You will receive a free PR2 backlink for your trouble!