Ah, yes...the hugely popular and rapidly growing trend of social media—it almost seems as if it’s going to be the end all, be all results producing source on the web sooner than later, doesn’t it?

 

Social media has certainly been all the rage lately, and there’s little doubt that the media all want us to believe it will be everything that the web is about before too long. But here’s the deal—while social media is really cool and does have some major identifiable benefits, it’s not ever going to replace the need to have a quality well-optimized website. It will complement your website if implemented correctly though.

 

So at first assumption, it would be safe to say that social media is right for promoting your website. Let’s take a look at some practical advice though, before rushing into setting up profiles on all the popular social media sites for your business or organization.

 

 

It’s easy to get started with just about any social media site in just about 30 seconds or so of signing up. But resist the urge for a just few minutes at least. Can you answer all of these questions:

 

·         Should I set up the profile in my name personally or in my business name?

·         How will I use this social media platform to promote my business?

·         Who will I accept as friends or followers for this medium?

·         Will I inter-mingle my own personal profiles with my business profiles?

·         Are potential customers likely to see my social media promotion as “spammy?”

·         Am I using social media to network or to advertise?

 

See where this is going? Again, while it’s really easy (and always tempting) to get started immediately, it’s just even more important to have a solid plan laid out before proceeding. Sure, one organization’s plan might be completely different from the next one, but with research and by finding reasonable answers to all of the questions you might have first, you can avoid making mistakes.

 

 

Again, we’re not trying to scare anyone away from social media at all—quite the opposite actually. But jumping in prematurely without that all important plan could create regrettable mistakes that are nearly impossible to fix or reverse. For example, after building quite a network of business related social media friends under a personal profile, you might decide that these should have been established under your business profile instead. It will be a huge endeavor to undo such an oversight.

 

The bottom line? Plan first and appreciate the fruit of your efforts in due time!