Getting started with social media, step 2: What to put in your toolbox
So you’ve given thought to social media and decided it’s a good fit for your marketing plans — what now? A good next step is to determine which tools will get the job done.
First, a few General Considerations
Social media creates a continual, two-way dialogue between the company and audience. As such, it should be treated as a conversation starter with useful & insightful information:
• Provide useful & educational content relevant to your fans & followers
• Be proactive about posting links to news and promoting great articles about the industries your company does business with, even when your company isn’t the focus
• Consider how you engage the audience, since customers, media, competitors and others will be following
• Maintain a consistent flow of content & be part of the conversation – at least 2-3 posts per week
The Tools
Facebook is probably the most powerful platform and can serve as a clearinghouse for all types of content: news, photos, video, etc; Facebook is the socially interactive version of a website.
• Post announcements on the same day a release is issued (same time, if possible)
• Follow up announcements with a variety of related content such as images and video
• Proactively add fans as friends, bring Facebook users into the fold via the Facebook profile
• Always be adding new content — don’t go dark
Twitter is a great way to reach audiences (Followers) instantly with “Tweets” — 140-character “microblog” posts. With everyone 
from consumers and influential bloggers to business reporters using Twitter, it’s the means for propagating news and announcements, contests and promotions.
• Like Facebook, post news and product announcements in parallel with news
• Re-Tweet news through day(s) to maintain content’s visibility
• Follow up announcements with Tweets about related images and video (i.e. Twitpic and TwitVid)
• Speak with a voice appropriate to the audience
• Thank users for positive Tweets on your offerings and encourage them to follow you
• Be attentive to support needs and respond with feedback where needed, such as: “Please try support for assistance: email <address> or call <number>”
YouTube, Flickr, Howcast are video and photo sites for news videos and viral campaigns and images.
• Post product videos, product shots, how-to videos and event photos and videos
Delicious, StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Mixx, Yahoo Buzz and other tagging and bookmarking sites are utilized for recommending and passing along 
news, videos and info to others, while enhancing company SEO.
• Bookmark articles and content relevant to what you offer. Include appropriate keywords
• Promote all positive news about your company and industry
Next time: does your company need social media guidelines?
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