SmartBlogs on Social Media

Social media can represent an overwhelming set of tools, websites, and communities for an organization that hasn’t yet gotten involved. Whether you’re trying to sell leadership on a plan to get going in social media or you’re trying to figure out how to get your own company more up to speed, you’ve got to start somewhere. Focus on a few simple steps to get things rolling

What to do:

• Start monitoring. Use free tools like Google alerts and Twitter search to stay on top of the conversation about you and your industry, as well as who’s saying what. This will help you identify influencers and existing topics.

• Comment on relevant blogs. You don’t have to have your own big-name blog to be relevant in the blogosphere. Rather, you can have success by engaging in the existing conversation around key blogs related to your industry — just be sure to always disclose who you are and who you work with.

• Open a Twitter account. Getting started in Twitter is easier than starting a blog. In just a few minutes a day, you can connect with some core talkers, share useful information, build relationships, and establish a platform to break news or respond to issues.