Social Media Basics - How to 2010 Social Media Strategy

The new business year is fast approaching, so now’s the time to start planning a social media strategy for 2010.  The following is a helpful starting place for all of you feeling a little behind in the social media arena.  Take a nice deep breath, relax, and start reading, and before you know it you will be up to speed and savvy about social media.

It’s easy to feel lost and confused with the plethora of social media buzz and advice bombarding you.  Once you begin understanding the basics types of social media sites for networking, you will soon realize there are a wide range of social media tools businesses can use to help build loyal customer relationships and a stronger brand.  What’s even better, you’ll see that small businesses and organizations are increasingly using these socializing tools because they offer cost-effective ways to reach their goals.

Here are some basic terms to build your foundation for a good 2010 social media strategy.

Blog –a blog can be a stand-alone website, or a blog can be a section within a website.  Similar to a journal log, a blog features entries commonly referred to as posts that list in chronological order.  The social feature of Blogs is they commonly allow readers to share comments, by providing an area to type in feedback and remarks which post beneath blog entry.  Blogger is an example of a template blog that one can create without having to register a URL and pay for monthly hosting.

Microblogging - Microblogging is a type of blogging where users post updates that are limited in size (certain number of characters permitted) and usually are posted more frequently than blog posts.  More and more companies are seeing the social benefit of Microblogging as a business tool.  You’ve probably heard of Twitter.  Twitter is a form of microblogging.  Another feature of microblogging is the ability to send and receive updates via text messaging, instant messaging, or email, creating a “real time” method for spreading news and sharing information.

Social Bookmarking – social bookmark sites allow you to save, organize, and share your favorite websites on the Internet rather than on your personal or work computer. Businesses are using social bookmarking sites to increase their company’s website presence and popularity online.  Delicious.com is an example of a well-known social bookmarking site.

Social News - social news sites are similar to bookmark sites, in that you can save your favorite web pages on line, and share with others.  When you save a website, you tag the site with keywords describing what the page is about, which allows others looking for similar information to type in terms and find websites they are looking for. 

The main difference between news sites such as Digg.com, Stumbleupon.com, Reddit and bookmark sites is that the more times a website is shared the more popular it becomes for the particular information it is about, and the greater audience of readers it reaches.  Yet, another significant benefit of social media for businesses trying to get reach the right audience of customers/clients.
   
Social Networking - the term that opened up the floodgates, releasing the tidal wave of social media marketing we are learning to embrace today.  Social Networking Sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn are still at the top of the list for most well-known, and are websites that allow online users to connect and share information with other online users. 

Many business are creating Facebook Fan Pages which is essentially a Facebook page for a business, rather than one for an individual person.  The features are very similar for business pages in comparison to an individual’s page – status update about “what’s on your mind,” share photos, videos, invite friends/fans to events, join groups etc.

Okay, now you're one-step closer to being social media savvy, and that much closer to getting your social media strategy in place for 2010.  Next you will want to give thought to what your goals are for socializing and networking.  You will want to think about the type of business you represent, and determine what you would like to achieve such as  grow customer base, launch new product, receive feedback, increase online sales, build brand identity.  Give it some thought.  Thanks for reading.  Please feel free to share with others, and provide feedback!