17 Quick Tips for Successful Social Media

For some, social media is a black hole of possibilities and they don't know where to start. Having an organized strategy and social media plan is vital, but just keeping the following tips in mind can start you on the road to success.

#1 Engage with the local business community. Reciprocity can go a long way in building relationships and connections.


#2 Monitor your brand image and your competitors by subscribing to them via RSS feed. You'll be able to see their posts and tweets without ever having to "like" or "follow".


#3 Re-purpose content. By changing the positioning statement, you'll find that you content can be used on multiple platforms.

#4 Most tweeters are in the Eastern time zone. Align your tweets with this time zone for maximum effectiveness (for national accounts). If local, stay with your home time zone but still plan for the morning.

#5 For ideas on how to add value to your Facebook brand page, visit others for ideas and inspiration.

#6 Comment on popular topics on Facebook. Your post will be grouped with the others on the subject and appear at the top of people's walls gaining you more exposure and increased reach.

#7 Facebook helpful hint: Customize your tabs. There are many free applications that can enhance and add value to your Facebook page such as a Contact tab and Custom Welcome Tab. Once you add your tabs, you can change the order in which the tabs are displayed by clicking "EDIT" under the list. Missing a tab? Click on "edit page", go to apps, and "edit setting" to enable the tab.

#8 Have you ever participated in a tweetchat on Twitter? It's a great way to extend your network, learn new things and gain klout.

#9 Convert to Facebook Timeline and keep up with any future changes. It shows you are actively managing the page and staying current on trends. 

#10 Create a custom cover photo for your new Timeline Brand Page and implement sooner rather than later. 

#11 Add a monitoring policy on your Facebook business page. Protect your right to remove non-approved conduct.

#12 Use hashtags (#) sparingly yet purposefully to get noticed.

#13 Always let a true personality shine through. Accounts should be managed by real people not just bots. Consumers know the difference.

#14 Remember to be personal and respond to your fans and don't be afraid to upload a quick video of you and your team hard at work or hard at play!

#15 Don’t “post to all”. Not every message works on all platforms.

#16 Make your fans look good. Share their content, like it and encourage their participation.

#17 Let your fans talk to one another without too much interference.