Research your social media audience: There are some research tools out there, like Rapleaf , which can identify the social networks your audience are registered with from their email addresses. You could use these, as well as speaking to your current users to see what online communities they are part of, to develop your social media strategy.
Start by listening: When it comes to first steps with Twitter, like most other social networks, they have their own etiquette and unwritten rules. When starting out, listening can be just as important as participating. Spend some time in the online communities to gain an understanding of what is the best way to approach your audience.
QR Codes don't work: I did an experiment recently where I printed a bunch of QR codes out, pointing to a trackable link, and attached them to posters. I still have yet to have a single user open the link. Although they might be useful once they become more regularly seen, at the moment I wouldn't count on them.
Facebook ads are useful: Facebook ads are costly, but they can be very specific. On a recent non-profit campaign, I experimented and spent US$25 on them. I got 124 new fans as a result. I targeted the ads to users who "liked" very specific topics related to my campaign, and they were all users who became very engaged.
Work social media into your daily life: Spend some time thinking about how social media can best fit into your life as seamlessly as possible and implement that. Don't think of it as 'I now need to spend 2 hours on Twitter a week' - that approach doesn't work.
Podcasts are useful: Podcasts are a great way for us as an organisation to engage with other organisations in our sector. They are a good way to hear more from some of the interesting people hard at work and, as we talk to different organisations each month, we can focus on different themes, like retail, health, think tanks, and young people etc.
Be creative: Try new tools, plug things into your website, see how they all connect - you may find something that brings real value and most tools are free. My social media experience has primarily come about through trial and error so don't be afraid to give different things a shot.
Use social media for marketing not sales: Twitter and Facebook are better for raising awareness - they fit in with marketing rather than direct sales. On certain occasions, make a sales offer but bear in mind that if you overuse them for sales, people will switch off.
Experiment with Google Adwords: Use a small budget of maybe 10-20 and experiment. You will soon be able to see what messages are working (i.e. generating direct sales as opposed to hits on your site) and what are not. If you are receiving lots of hits but not sales, then it is your site that needs changing. If you are not receiving hits, then you can adjust the message.
SEO is essential: Build in good search engine optimisation (SEO) when you are constructing your website and periodically revamp it. I recommend using a specialist in this field but beware, many IT firms say they do this well but few actually do.
Use aides to help you be efficient: Hootsuite and TweetDeck, for instance, allow you to set up permanent searches for people talking about particular topics. You can then directly interact with these people online if it's relevant to your enterprise or project. This will eventually build up a larger audience and is a good way to find people who are interested in what you do.
Be responsible: Many of our trainees plan on bringing the skills they learn back to their colleagues. But unfortunately most of the platforms that organisations want to use are not very socially responsible so it's about having a social media policy in place to ensure you have sufficiently prepared for any issues that may arise in the use of these platforms.
Social media isn't just about increasing your own site traffic: In an ideal world, it would be great to simply get the audience to your own site rather than to a social network, but it's important to keep in mind that social networks are where the audiences already are. In a lot of cases, people are much more likely to interact with an organisation on a social network than on a website.
Use Facebook and Twitter plug-ins: These are two social media plug-ins that I think all websites should have. It's very easy to point someone to your social media presences, but allowing them to follow you there and then cuts out an entire step. I suspect that organisations that use these tools will see a slightly bigger number of new followers than those who simply point towards their presence.
Don't be afraid to ask for help: Social media is such a new medium that it is still scary to a lot of organisations. There are people that can help, be it through consultation or training. Even if it's just to confirm you're doing everything the 'right way'.
Invest in a good website: Money is often very limited these days, but if you are interested in engaging with your target market through social media, you will need an engaging website as social media channels should point towards a central hub - often an organisation's website.
Social media is a great way to get an audience to engage: The immediate value of follows, likes, etc. is that it means you have an audience to take a message to. Often many in the audience might not have a vested interest, or may not even remember how they got there, but at least they are there and you can set to work engaging them.
Work to offer your followers something unique: Followers want something that will make them glad they have bothered to connect with you. Don't just blab on about what you're up to - ask questions and get advice.
Training could not only be useful but also collaborative: There's an opportunity for social enterprises to come together and be at the forefront of creative social media usage. Institutions are getting bogged down with internal barriers but for social enterprises, the path should be pretty clear, although at the moment, private enterprises are probably leading the way.
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