Hi

1. Temper your expectations according to the audience available. If you are in a niche industry that sells directly to five clients in the world, then perhaps, social media may not be able to help you too much. If your customers are in rural towns and villages in India, then social media is definitely not your vehicle.

2. You need to be simultaneously active on multiple networks that reach your target audience. Just being active in one will not further your cause. You need to find out and be active in networks that target your own industry, as well as in networks that have your target audience to get the best results.

3. Do not expect miracles overnight. You need to build up the trust of your audience. Social media have their on trust and reputation cycles, and it will take time to build up your reputation in a network and to get people to respond
to you.

4. Do not be sporadic. Appearing and disappearing at random is the surest way of putting off your audience since they cannot be sure about you and cannot trust you. If you get into a social network, be prepared to be there for the long haul. Be prepared to commit time, resources, and energy for this.

5. Do not delegate it to the junior-most employees. Involvement in social media is like making PR appearances. That cannot be done by junior employees who do not have the power to talk or take decisions on behalf of the business. Social media interactions should be carried out by senior stakeholders and employees, and by those who are authorized to decide or talk on behalf of the business.

6. Whatever happens, do not fight. Remember that you are talking in front of a potentially large audience. It is too tempting for others not to take the side of the little guy taking on the organization. You just cannot win even if you are right and the other guy is completely nuts. So, what ever happens, do not fight. If anything, go out of your way to be helpful and resolve issues.

7. One person cannot represent a brand. If you use social media, then you need to put enough resources behind it. Ideally, all employees in the organization should contribute. In real life, enough employees should be tasked to the project.

8. Keep your ears open, not just your mouth. From the perspective of a brand, social media is not just about getting your message out. It is more about hearing what others have to say about it. It is also about molding that opinion and finally about getting your message amplified by others. For all this to happen, you need to first keep your ears open and listening to what others are saying about your brand.

9. Cross-link your social media activity. Rule two asks you to be active on multiple social media. But do not keep each isolated from the other. You should cross-link and cross-post to each other to derive the maximum benefits.

10. Make it personal. Do not use corporatized jargon or PR-speak. You are talking to people and they expect a real person at the other end, not an uncaring automation. Add a personal touch to your messages, particularly your replies.