Article: So You’re Ready to Dive into Social Media
By Julie Friedman Bacchini

So you’ve made a business decision to join Twitter, start a blog, join Facebook … now what? When you think you’re ready to go for it, here’s what you should have in place:

• Your Goals. Be specific: What is going to constitute “success”? How will you know if your Web 2.0 presence is “working”? And remember, tracking results from Web 2.0 campaigns is very difficult. You may not be able to trace a direct line from Twitter or Facebook to a sale or transaction. Therefore, set goals that are reasonable.
• Your Message. Don’t start posting, commenting, tweeting, or any of the rest of it haphazardly! Be sure you know what you want to say and how you want to say it to make your desired audience sit up and pay attention.
  
• Your Plan. At a minimum, you should have a three-month plan in place on how you intend to use your Web 2.0 tool(s). Sure, you can put up postings or send a tweet spontaneously should the need arise. But those should be in addition to carefully developed and strategically-timed content.
  
• Your Content. You should know who is responsible for creating the content, approving the content, and posting the content (and they should know it, too!).
  
• Your People. Web 2.0 is all about people connecting with people. That means that you have to enable and empower your staff (in whole or in part) to interact with your customers. They have to have the time, training, and technology available to them to support your Web 2.0 strategy.
  
• Your Expectations. It’s all too easy to believe that Web 2.0 is the “silver bullet” that will make your business or product a viral sensation on the web. Don’t bank on it. Even if you were to experience a viral spike in sales, it would likely drop down again just as quickly. Steady growth – while slower – is much more reliable. Web 2.0 technologies are simply a new set of tools in your marketing toolbox. As such, use them to augment and expand your central marketing strategy. When you use them wisely, they will serve you well.

© 2009 Julie Friedman Bacchini
Article Source: http://www.neptunemoon.com

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About the Author:

Julie Friedman Bacchini is President of Neptune Moon Design (www.NeptuneMoon.com), a full-service agency providing businesses and non-profit organizations with custom web designs, web site marketing plans, and strategic search engine optimization (SEO), all designed to build brand recognition, increase site traffic, and generate leads, clients, and revenue. Be sure to visit NeptuneMoon.com to read additional articles that will help you reach your business goals!

© 2009 Neptune Moon