Before you start using social media, you should at least have an understanding of what it's about. Social media is not about the tools, the tools are only a facilitator. Here are some tips to help ease your social media path.

 

Starting with the basics. Roll your sleeves up, get dirty and stake your claim:

1) Register your domain name, preferably a dot com extension. It's also a good idea to register any variations and extensions of your domain name. Do it sooner rather than later, or you might be negotiating with someone who already has secured the name, paying a premium in the future, rather than pennies in the present.

 

2) Install a blogging platform, for example Wordpress or Blogspot. You need to optimize not only just for search engines, but also page loading time. Find a simple theme and build around it. KISS (Keep It Short & Simple) is always a good rule of thumb.

 

3) Create an about page. Tell people what your blog is about, and most importantly what you're about. Put a nice head shot of yourself on the about or profile page. Make sure to include any awards or recognition that may be relevant about the author. Give people an email address to email you, rather than an online form. Add your primary social networking badges and URLs on your contact page. Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter should be a starting point.

 

4) Use analytic software, such as Google Analytics. It's a good idea to have at least two stats packages installed and running. All analytic software is not created equal; they all have the same purpose, but vary in their reporting and tracking methods. Results will vary to an extent, comparison of multiple data sources is vital.

 

5) Give people the tools to promote your content. Social promotional buttons make it easy for your visitors to Digg, StumbleUpon, and share your content. Bring the good word back to your blog. For instance, if you're active on FriendFeed you should install the

FriendFeed comments and likes plugin on your blog.

 

6) Focus and be consistent with your blogging. Most professional bloggers get paid per post. Don't be intimidated or feel forced to compete with them. Work at your own pace. Quality takes time, plain and simple.

 

7) Leave thoughtful and constructive comments as much as possible on other blogs. Don't stop there, post comments on Facebook walls, FriendFeed, and Twitter. This promotes good practices in social media, and it also gives you an opportunity for exposure and link placement. This can lead into new networking opportunities and potential new friendships.

 

8) Find the top 50 blogs in your space, and subscribe to their RSS feeds in Google Reader. Consistently be on the lookout for new blogs, and the voices behind them.

 

9) You should establish a Twitter account. If your objective is personal branding, your Twitter username should be your name. Otherwise you could brand your twitter username the same name as your blog. Remember consistency with all your profiles is key.

 

10) Work smarter not harder. Use the tools to help you manage and stay ahead of the pack.

 

11) Listen to what's being said about you. Create Google alerts to monitor for positive or negative chatter.

 

12) Link out as often as possible when the circumstances permit it. If you are writing a post on a related subject, always look for a chance to reference a fellow bloggers work. This is not only good blogging etiquette, but will also put you on that person’s radar in a positive way.

 

13) Build relationships with key influencers in all the communities and platforms that you participate on. Relationships take time to develop and grow in time. One good example on how to do this is listed above at #12.

 

14) The material that you create should be something that people want to share. For the most part, it should be relevant to your networks’ interests. Create newsworthy, thoughtful, intelligent content that has immediate usefulness.

 

15) Become an expert in your field. Try to align and surround yourself with the best tools, and people to accomplish this. It's all about networking, networking and networking. Take it offline when permitting. Organize local social media meetups and tweetups.

 

16) Don't knock it until you tried it at least once. Be open to trying new multimedia applications that enable self promotion, audience engagement, brand retention and participation. Experiment with podcasting, creating video, slide shows, or creating and posting any type of original user generated content.

 

17) Solicit not only your peers for feedback, but your audience. Ask your readers to submit feedback for site improvements, ideas on new topics to blog about, follow ups on previous topics, participation in polls etc.

 

18) Good content speaks for itself, and is recognized. Let others promote your content and only promote your best stuff. Ask your twitter followers to spread the word by re-tweeting good posts. Be sure to do the same for others.

 

19) Promote others, even more than you promote yourself. Practice this, and it will come back to you tenfold.

 

20) Use Google Reader to share and promote your own work, as well as your core networks content. Don't limit yourself, share complete strangers work too. Good content needs to be rewarded, recognized and distributed through the appropriate channels and relevant communities.

 

21) Tag your media, especially blog posts and

bookmarks. Social bookmarking, video and image sharing sites also serve as search engines, therefore tag accordingly. The traffic comes in dribs and drabs, but it's targeted traffic nonetheless. Every click counts.

 

22) Be omnipresent on all the networks. I should be able to find out about your latest happenings, and or statuses if I am browsing your Facebook profile, Linked profile, Twitter or FriendFeed stream.

 

23) Use the cloud to your benefit. Work more efficiently by using online applications to manage and organize the workload.

 

24) It can take months even years to see successes. Stay consistent and focused with your social media strategy. Adapt when necessary, and do not be afraid to take calculated risks.

 

25) Do not ignore the simple concept of “transparency.” Personalize your brand. People relate to people much more effectively than they can a logo or commoditized brand.

 

Any additional thoughts? Please share. 

Read more by Mike Fruchter at MichaelFruchter.com.