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One of the most common questions I get is about social media. In fact, it’s pretty hard to avoid. Everyone is talking about Facebook and Twitter not to mention logging on to these applications multiple times throughout the day. The real question is whether or not social media can be used to help your business. Can it really help build your brand or sell your products? My answer is ‘yes’ as long as you consider these guidelines.

for social media to be effective, it’s important that you focus on a specific audience for whom you have something in common. You want to have regular conversations with like minded people. If you are interested in baseball and you’re focused on soccer, you’re going to have a hard time being part of the conversation.

Start with a plan. If you want to use social media for marketing and promotional purposes, you really need to have a plan. Starting to post or profile is a great idea but certainly not enough for online success. To succeed you should define objectives, resources, and responsible parties. Doing so improves your chances of success dramatically.

Share your expertise. What are you good at? Others want to learn from those with experience in a given area. Do you have a skill that you can teach others? Take time to share what you know and do it in bite sized pieces. This can keep others engaged and allow you to communicate within your comfort zone. The more experience you can share the better.

Consistent communication is important. Posting information one day or one week and not the next doesn’t do much to build a following. Those who are most successful communicate just the right information at the right time. Striking a balance is important to your successful over the long term. Start with small, consistent communications that provide value and you’ll see results.

Invite conversation with others around specific topics. Take a stand and choose a side. By serving to create dialog, others want to be part of the conversation. The more people that weigh in the better your content as it represents many different points of view. This enriches the content and attracts others to your conversation.

Stop selling. Something that I see on a regular basis is direct selling happening on social media websites. However, what these individuals don’t realize is that nothing turns off individuals more than being sold. Rather, they want to learn about a subject area and choose products and services on their own after research, recommendations, and reasoning. Don’t use social media to sell directly. Rather, use social media to build a following. Once you have proved value, others will look to follow you and the products you use or try.

Using social media for marketing success is possible. However, to do so you will have to walk a fine line between offering value, communicating regularly, and mentioning products or services. Your best bet is to create a following first, create value, and only offer suggestions that are relevant to the dialog. Make a social media plan that can help you succeed online and follow through every day. Social media should be a significant part of your marketing plan.

Need guidance with your social media marketing? Start with our SEO training and social media program. Check out our Internet marketing forum for more social media guidance.