A strategy and a plan First of all you must know what you are trying to achieve from your social media activity.
I've hinted already that one of the risks with social media is that it can use up considerable time.
There is so much you could do that time simply gets eaten up.
I have to confess to spending a whole morning poking about in LinkedIn without realizing it.
This is incredibly easy to do and with so many possible channels to fritter time on it can become all consuming.
If you have a strategy that states what you are trying to achieve overall and then a plan with clear objectives and detailed steps then you will have a much better chance of controlling it.
After all, this guide is for those who don't have much time already, we certainly don't want to add to the burden or just replace one task with another.
In a survey conducted by the Boston Consulting Group they discovered that 90% of businesses asked had a Facebook or Twitter page, but most of them couldn't say what they were trying to achieve through them.
Not having a plan for social media is really setting out to waste time that you almost certainly don't have.
It's also important that social media is part of an overall marketing plan, not all of it.
There aren't many businesses that should rely completely on these online avenues for their marketing.
More traditional routes to market have their place.
PC/Laptop/iPad (Tablet)/Smartphone You can access all the services and tools I am going to talk about through any or all of these devices.
Another of the great attractions of social media is that you can quite literally get involved anywhere.
At your desk, on the train, in front of the TV, walking down the high street, sitting in a monster traffic tailback or sitting in your favorite Wi-Fi connected coffee shop whilst enjoying your morning cappuccino.
Seriously, why not use your commute home to tweet about key issues or promote tomorrow's special offer.
With the right kit you can.
Internet Access I know it's obvious.
It's an online world and you will need to be online.
These days it's easy to get on line, and like all surfing, the faster your connection the easier it is to do these things.
A product or service to represent and promote I know this seems obvious too but let's not forget the point of this activity.
The aim is to connect with people, to get them to know, like and trust us, so that we can do business with them.
Business centers on products and services.
Like any traditional business unless your service or product represents value to your customers and meets their needs you won't succeed in the long term.
Social media is not a cure for poor quality.
In fact quite the opposite, if your proposition isn't up to scratch then the world will find out quickly; more quickly than in the old world.