10 Steps to Getting Started in Social Media Marketing?

When it comes to using [social media marketing to build your business, the worst action is no action, and your biggest problem is being invisible, not being talked about negatively. As long as you’re part of the conversation on the social Web, you can hear what’s being said about you and massage negative perceptions about your business. But if no one is talking about you, you have no chance for growth. That means you need to get involved on the social Web as soon as possible, not only to capitalize on the opportunities that it presents to your business, but also to develop and protect your reputation.

Determine your goals.
Evaluate your resources
Know your audience.
Create amazing content.
Integrate your marketing efforts.
Create a schedule.
Adopt an 80-20 rule.
Focus on quality, not quantity
Give up control.
Keep learning.

It’s a good idea to start with a plan that has goals and an organizing framework to keep you on track. If you start down a path on the social Web and hate what you’re doing, you can change things around. Just as you change networking and conversational approaches in person, you can do so on the social Web. The only differences are that on the social Web, you’re talking through your keyboard, and your potential audience is much, much larger.