Starting out with Social Media?

We are frequently asked by our clients, how they can use Social Media more effectively to raise awareness for their cause or business objective. Here's a quick Beginners Guide to help those that are starting out.
Be Realistic
There is no point forcing someone who does not do social media to do social media, its better to find someone in the company/organisation who is already an active tweeter/facebook user and redirect them onto your topic.
Be Relevant
Knowing your audience is key. Create content that is relevant to your audience and their sector.
Be Genuine
We are all passionate about something. If you allow this passion to flow into your social media output you stand a better chance of frequently producing interesting content for your readers.
Be Informed & Informative
Social media is one of the fastest moving forms of media. It is important to follow other people/organisations that are relevant you and be aware of current affairs in your sector. Commenting on this creates cross pollination of ideas and keeps the whole cycle running.
Set your self goals and think “How can I be more interesting to my reader” ? Perhaps every time you tweet, include a link to what has inspired you, this way you are creating content that has value. You can create nice shortened links by using bitly.com
Don't just comment on things you think people want to hear or jump on bandwagons, you'll just get lost in the sea of information, but if you put an interesting slant on a hot topic, this is more interesting to your reader, gives you a better chance of increasing your following and raises awareness of your cause.
Be Inquisitive
Asking questions via social media is a good way of increasing your chance of getting a response, therefore making more connections
Be Strategic
There's just no way you can do it all, be strategic when choosing which social media platform to communicate on, choose the ones most relevant to your sector. If you try and cover all bases you run the risk of never doing any of it. Be timely with your output, think about prime internet usage times and release something when you think most people will be about to read it.
Be Brave
If you have an opinion, voice it, in an eloquent and informed way.
In Conclusion
Social media can either be the biggest waste of time, or the quickest and most cost effective way of raising awareness for your cause or business. Its all down to how you use it and the content you write. If you are realistic, inquisitive, strategic and brave and are creating content that is relevant, genuine, informed & informative, then social media could be your best friend. Enjoy!