As we said in a previous article, Social Media for Beginners – Steps 1-2-3, then you know the first three steps that a future social media expert should take to establish his or herself online.

After we’ve met our audience, identified where they are and established our online presence, there are three more steps easy steps to start our online popularity.

Now, let’s imagine that we’ve already taken that first step to introduce ourselves to our potential audience. We’ve left friendly comments on blogs and started interesting threads on forums. What should we do next?

4. Contribute in Conversations

You don’t just stop on that first comment. Remember, we have to establish our presence. Establishing our presence does not mean saying “hi, goodbye”. It means making sure that people get to know you. Don’t be afraid to make friends. Answer comments, ask intelligent questions, and insert information about yourself and your business. Invite them to your site and interact with them there, too.

5. Regular Communication Schedule

Let’s say that you’ve lured your audience to your site, your Facebook is teeming with relationships, your Twitter account is on the running right behind CNN and Ashton Kutcher, does that stop there? No. You were able to bring your audience to your social media site. The next challenge is keeping them there. Don’t be afraid to communicate. People stay in places where they enjoy themselves. Come up with regular quality content, with the keyword being regular. Don’t make your audience wonder if you’ve dropped off the face of the earth. If you have a mailing list, use that mailing list to your advantage.

6. Keep Things Current

The best topics to write about are those that are up-to-date and new. News and new information draw a lot of people. If you’re working on a site, it’s important that you keep your blog entries or articles relevant. You may have to use your research abilities (and Google) to find these little gems of data such as keywords that are currently popular and topics that are generally in-demand. There’s a well of information that’s just waiting for you to find so that you can use them on your site.

These basic things are the first and most important steps that you can take to launch yourself into the dizzying heights of social media success. While it’s easier than a 9-to-5 job, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t take work and effort. Your presence is important if you want an Internet career, whether business or freelancing job, to take off. The important thing to remember is that social media is supposed to be fun.

Enjoy!

One Response to “Social Media for Beginners – Step 4-5-6”

1. Elliot Swicegood Says:
   April 12th, 2010 at 3:07 am

   Great post as always, thanks for writing such informative stuff on a regular basis.

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