As I spent part of this morning helping a friend create a Facebook page for her company, I ran across a number of pages associated with her. Company profile, her personal page, and at least three other pages devoted to her company…all of which she generated at one time or another. None of the pages were being followed by others. The inactivity associated with each makes that pretty obvious. And the fact that the pages were created so long ago, she nor her own personal followers were even aware that they existed. Which leads to the point of today’s post about social media and one of the first things you should know about it before starting.

You have to be willing to ask questions and explore. People who are active users will help you.

But exploring blindly and without any guidance can lead to a number of things that end up making you look as though you don’t know what you’re doing (Yes, I know. You don’t know what you’re doing, but at least try to appear like you do)

Here’s some basic, helpful tips when getting started:

1. Research.  Look to see what other people are doing and how they are using the tools.  You can learn a lot about what you want for your own business or organization but seeing what people are doing, as well as avoiding what you don’t like about others’ social media actions.
2. Ask Questions.  Ask questions in online forums of other users.  Ask how they set up their tool.  Ask why they chose one tool over another.  You can gather a ton of information from others online.  They are, after all, social networking already.  Which means they are usually people who would engage in a conversation with you too.
3. Start Small.  Too many people get caught up in signing up for every social media tool that comes out.  Or acting on the typical….”my friend had one of these accounts so I signed up when I got the invitation, but I have no idea what it’s for.”  Hey, I’ve even signed up on a whim when someone else suggested.  But what I found out very quickly is if I didn’t see an immediate use for it in my life, I didn’t stay connected and thus it was a waste of time to sign up in the first place.  Start with one or two social media applications and use them.  Activity is what will get you engaged with others.  Activity is what will spark others to follow you and inquire about what you’re doing.  Juggle a couple of objects and do it well.  Throw too many up in the air and all of them will far.  You get the picture.

Social media and networking has already become one of the fastest ways for consumers to know what you do and how to get connected to you.  Start with the basics and get good at them.  And like any road trip somewhere new…ease the heartache of being “lost” by simply asking some who’s familiar with the landscape for directions.