Top 10 Steps to Getting Started Social Media Marketing.

Whether you like it or not, you need social media to build and protect your reputation and grow your business.

When it comes to using social media marketing to build your business, the worst action is doing nothing, and your biggest problem is being invisible and not talking about it negatively. As long as you are part of a conversation on the social network, you can listen to what is being said about you. But you have no chance to grow if no one talks about you. This means that you should get on the social network as soon as possible, not only to take advantage of the opportunities it presents for your business but also to promote and protect your reputation.

It's a good idea to start with a plan that has goals and an organizing framework to keep you on track. If you're starting on the social web and hate what you're doing, you can change things. Just as you switch approaches from networking and conversations in person, you can 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.

Here are 10 steps to get started.

1. Determine your goals.

What do you want to get out of your social Web participation? Why are you doing it? Are you trying to generate direct sales? Are you trying to offer a form of customer service? Do you want to build relationships with customers and boost loyalty? Your answers to these questions greatly affect the type of content you publish and the activities you participate in on the social Web.

2. Evaluate your resources.

Who is going to create your content? Who is going to maintain your social media accounts? Who is going to answer the questions and be the face of your online business? Do you have the technical capacity in-house to join the conversation online? If not, are you willing to learn? Can you or someone you work with write well? You need to make sure you have the people you need to execute a social media marketing plan before you start.

3. Create amazing content.

Once you know where your audience hangs out and what type of content audience members want, take the time to provide them with more of that type of content. Don’t give up you need to continuously offer your audience amazing content, which is also presented in the form of conversations, to create a loyal following of people who trust you as a source that can meet their needs and expectations.

4. Know your audience.

Where does your target audience spend their time online? What types of content and conversations are audience members talking about the most? What kind of information do they want from you? What is it that you don't like? Remember, you're not just posting marketing messages on the social web. You need to find out what your audience wants and needs, so you can provide the kind of content that they find useful and interesting. However, you also need to be personable, so they will want to interact with you.

5. Coordinate your marketing efforts.

All your efforts in social media marketing should be mutually beneficial. Promote your efforts both online and offline, and make sure your social media and traditional marketing efforts work together seamlessly.

6. Focus on quality, not quantity.

It can be easy to get caught up in the numbers but don't become a slave to followers and subscribers. It's better to have 1,000 highly engaged loyal followers than 10,000 followers who sign up to follow you but then never acknowledge you again.

7. Make a schedule.

Set aside specific times in your day to dedicate yourself to social media marketing. For example, spend five minutes on Twitter every day before you check your email and another five minutes before you leave work every day. When you create a schedule, it's easier to stick to it and make sure you don't skip your social media marketing activities every day.

8. Adopt an 80-20 rule.

Always spend at least 80 percent of your time on non-self-promotional social media activities and no more than 20 percent of your time on self-promotional activities.

9. Relinquish control.

You need to allow your audience to take control of the online conversation and make it their own so they develop an emotional bond with you, your brand, and your business. Remember, on the social web, apathy or invisibility is a bigger problem than negativity.

10. Keep learning.

You can never stop listening and learning. To be successful in social media marketing, you need to be flexible and accept that change is good.