The ‘to do or not to do’ of Social Media for business. Where to start is a question that we are asked almost every day so here are the top 10 Social Media tips, courtesy of our friends at Apparatus:

  1. Choose one thing and do it well – don’t just plaster Social Media badges all over your site for the sake of it
  2. A good idea is to begin with LinkedIn if you are B2B, Facebook if you are B2C
  3. Twitter works well for tourism or distressed stock
  4. Don’t use Social Media as an overt sales tool – develop a social vision for your brand – how does your brand make the world a better place. If you’re stuck, that’s where we come in!
  5. Create an editorial strategy – plan 50% of your content monthly, allocate 50% for spontaneous reaction to issues
  6. Diary your posts – plan when you will update and put it in your diary
  7. Subscribe to a Social Media blog – econsultancy and mashable are our favourites
    8. Reach out – don’t use it simply to broadcast your message, find ways to interact with your customers, on other blogs or related sites for example – and always respond to criticism
  8. Give it time – most people are ‘lurkers’ and won’t respond right away
  9. Remember, you no longer own your brand, your customer does, so whatever you do, make sure you delight them