Welcome to Social Media

Setting Goals to Plan Your Social Media Strategy

May 29th, 2009

Heidi Adams Cool

If you don't control your online presence, someone else will.

When embarking on any new project or adventure, it helps to set some goals. What do you want to get out of the project? When it comes to social media I think we all share a primary goal, that of controlling our online presence.

Many people are hesitant to jump into the world of social media. Some are shy while others simply don't know what they'll do once they join the fray.

The advice I give to each is to consider what may happen if they don't get involved. In a day when employers Google job applicants and the charming lass you met at that party last week is searching the Web to make sure you're not a psychopath, you want to be in control of what they'll find.

The fact that you aren't posting about yourself doesn't mean others aren't. Perhaps your name and your clever ideas about composting were posted in the meeting minutes of your neighborhood gardening club. Perhaps your last promotion was mentioned in the online version of your local paper. Then again what if the first thing that comes up in a Google search is your wedding announcement…from five years ago…to the fellow you divorced when you discovered he was pawning your jewelry to invest in a pyramid scheme? Is that what you want to the world to see? Probably not.

That being the case, your social media plan should include some way to present positive aspects of yourself to the world. But how? Do you start a blog? A MySpace page? Join Facebook? That depends on your other goals. What else do you want to accomplish online?

Secondary Goals: Acquiring knowledge, meeting people, career enhancement, taking over the world…?

People have various reasons for getting involved in social media. Some want to promote a product or service. Others want to network with professional peers and experts; some want to meet people with common interests and hobbies, and others don't care about the social aspect—they just want a way to better filter information based on user opinions. Social media can help with all of this, but it takes time. If you're just getting started you'll probably want to start with just one or two secondary goals. Typical examples could include:

• Discovering new music from those with similar tastes and buying habits.
• Networking with others in your field—by sharing tips and best practices—in order to present your expertise, gain new insights from others, increase your knowledge base and learn about career opportunities.
• Trading links and recommending Web sites or blogs geared to your hobby, sense of humor, eating habits or other interests.
• Finding people in your area with whom you can attend concerts, movies, gallery openings, lectures, etc.
• Promoting your organization's products or services.
• Recruiting new members to your club or association.
• Documenting an event or activity.
• Conversing with like-minded souls about your avocation or hobby.

Choosing a social media service or strategy most likely to support these goals.

There are thousands of social networks on the Internet. Go to Web 2.0 listed 2,746 of them as of this writing. The number will have grown by the time you read this. So where do you begin? There may be a great new service starting today that will be perfect for you next year. But if you are just starting out, you'll probably want to focus on services that already have an established reputation and user base.

The easiest way to find a service or strategy appropriate to your goal is to ask people you know who are already using social media tools. If you don't know anyone personally a group such as Social Media Club – Cleveland can be a good place to start. Many of the people there are already experienced with social media and would be happy to tell you which services they use for which purposes.

Another good place is Google. For instance a search on social networking music pulls up Last.fm, a popular music recommendation site, Wikipedia's list of social networking sites, Mashable's Rock On: 12 of the Best Music Social Network, and so forth.

These are all great starting points, so, using this approach, you should be able to find a strategy that will fit your needs.

Popular Social Networking Services worth considering

Over the past year I've introduced several friends to social media. Typically we discuss their goals then I show them the services I use most frequently—so they can see how they work. Then they go home and start experimenting. Once they get started I find they usually develop a preference for one or two services that best suit their needs.

My friend E is a classical musician who started a blog to share her knowledge and experience and to promote a recording project. Wanting to both network with other musicians and promote both her project and her blog, she joined Facebook where she quickly found like-minded musicians. My friend J likes to share recipes, photography tips and humor on StumbleUpon. I liked having long rambling conversations with fellow Web designers—and others—on the now-defunct Pownce, while many of my colleagues preferred the brevity of Twitter. With Pownce gone, I now spend more time on Twitter because that is where I'm most likely to find my Web design and social media peers.

No matter what your goal, the only way to know which service will work best for you is to experiment for yourself. Sign up, explore the sites, and see where you feel most comfortable. In most cases it's not a question of whether A is better than B, it's merely a question of which is the best fit for you.

Now it's time to set your own goals and start exploring. Here are a few places to get started.

• Blogging—You can host a blog on your own Web domain, or use a service such as TypePad or WordPress. Blogging is a good way to share your knowledge and gain valuable feedback from readers, though it requires a consistent investment of time and a clear editorial focus.
• Delicious—Social bookmarking (tag your bookmarks by topic and share them with yourself and others)
• Digg—Site recommendations (usually news and blogs recommended by the community and your friends)
• Facebook—Connect with people you know in the real world or join groups based on topical interests.
• Flickr—Post photos and network with other photographers.
• Friendfeed—Follow what your Friendfeed friends are posting on their other social media sites while sharing resources in topic rooms.
• Last.fm—Music recommendations based on your listening habits
• Linkedin—Business networking service on which you can post your work experience, get recommendations, demonstrate your expertise by answering questions in your field and connect with peers.
• Socialthing—Follow what your friends (from several other networks) are posting on those other networks.
• Twitter—Microblogging in 140 character increments. This is good for sharing quick ideas and links, asking questions and monitoring what people have to say about your organization or products. Twitter can also be a marketing tool when used with care.
• StumbleUpon—Site recommendations based on your past preferences and what your friends recommend

Getting the most out of your social networking activities

If you're just starting out it's easy to get overwhelmed. Just start with one or two services that sound appropriate to your purpose. Make sure to fill out your profile as completely as possible. Include a photo and a brief bio in the space provided. This lets other users know you're a human and not a robot promoting the latest get-rich quick scheme.

Once you've signed up and filled out your profile, read the FAQs and any user manuals you may find. Search Google to find how-to tips and recommendations for the service you use. These will give you a roadmap to learn the best ways to use the service as well as any user conventions.

Now that you know more about the service, start using it. Make some posts, save a few bookmarks, favorite a song or whatever else is appropriate. Look at other people's pages, then follow their lead. After you've made a few of your own posts/comments/bookmarks, etc. then search out people with common interests and follow or friend them. The posts you've already made, in conjunction with your bio, will help them to decide whether to friend you in return.

Keep in mind that not everyone will follow you. Some people return all friend requests while others only return a few. That's O.K. there is no social stigma or obligation involved in online friending and you can usually still reply to conversations started by people who've yet to friend you back. This is a good way for them to get to know you so that in time they may reciprocate. Overall the social media community is friendly and welcoming to new users. As you use the service more, people will learn more about you and your interests and in no time you'll find people following you of their own accord.

Now you should be well on your way to exploring the world of social media. Enjoy!

Heidi Cool is a freelance Web designer and consultant with more than 15 years experience in Web development and a background in marketing. Heidi has worked in the fields of publishing and higher education, most recently as Webmaster of Case Western Reserve University. You can read more of Heidi's musings on social media, marketing, and Web development on her Web Development Blog.

Topics: Professional Best Practices

Tags: Delicious, Digg, Facebook, Flickr, FriendFeed, Google, Last.FM, LinkedIn, social media networks, SocialThing, StumbleUpon, Technology and Applications, Twitter

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