Social Brand Strategy for Entrepreneurs, Homepreneurs & Solopreneurs

Connecting and communicating on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube is extremely important for your brand today. To establish a strong social media presence you need to form a strong overall brand strategy.

Twitter is a Rock Star these days. As recent as yesterday it served as a major backstage passes for Michael Jackson fans for his final event in Los Angeles. Millions of fans who were left without a ticket turned to Twitter. Facebook had something like 800000 updates logged for the MJ webcast.

In the recent global events like the Iran Elections and MJ, both Twitter and Facebook proved to be the leading and most powerful source of media platform. It was faster, accurate and in real time. Iran Elections was dominating Twitter Topics for more than two weeks. Twitter the micro blogging service is one of the fastest growing social communities on the Web, and has proven to be a profitable and successful means of communication and business building tool for entrepreneurs and consumers.

Twitter now provides a service where brands can interact directly with their consumers on a very personal level. Dell computers generated additional three million dollars for having a Twitter presence. For a 61 billion dollar company may be 3 million is not a big deal, but it still adds up to their bottom line.
Major brands like Coco Cola, Huggies, Dunkin Donuts, BMW, Oprah, Obama and hundreds are joining the social media brand building parade today. Their aim is same to introduce more people to their products, tweet a special offer or to provide better customer service.

If you are a small business owner, coach, author, speaker, retailer etc, it is time to establish and consolidate your Twitter and Facebook brand presence. You want people to talk and rave about your brand and products and you want to become a part of this global communication evolution.
However the big question on everyone’s minds is what are the right etiquettes and practices on social networks? To get the maximum out of your Facebook and Twitter presence I have put together some guidelines.

1. Invest some time to learn more about Facebook & Twitter Functionalities. This is best done by going to some successful Twitter and Facebook users, and see the way they have set up their pages, profiles and model their success.

2. Add Value to your Tweets and Facebook Updates. Vary your updates and Tweets and give something interesting to your friends, fans and followers. For example you can write once in a while you are having dinner with your kids or feeding your pets but after a while your network wants to know more about you. They want to learn about your values, what you do for a living and something more interesting. Give an interesting cocktail of content. Do by writing a positive quote, submitting a good article, a video clip, share some interesting photos.

3. Be Relevant and Consistent: Keep your communication style consistent so people come to know you better. Best is ask how you want others to perceive you and then develop a communication style. If you are a very professional sounding person and want people to perceive you as that then conduct yourself in that manner. You decide and then follow the style all the way through.

4. Value your Friends. On Twitter and Facebook you can add hundreds of friends and followers however build quality relationships with key people and keep your network updated regularly. Please also be sensitive about other people’s diverse beliefs, culture, values and mindsets. Do not post anything that is racist, sexist or offensive. Respect other peoples’ feelings.

5. Social Media is Public. Keep in mind that what you post is permanent content, so be very careful of what you are updating and posting. Always be cautious about your Tweets and Facebook Updates. Do not post anything confidential, controversial or private.

6. Be Active. You need to be very active on Twitter and Facebook. This is the best way to keep your brand and message continuously in front of your audience. Space out your Tweets and Updates during the day.

7. Be Reputation Conscious. Your social reputation is the key to online success. Make sure you build your reputation on trust and others like you. Build trust and be likeable. Let people give you rave feedback. You have heard in the real world word of mouth is the best form of advertising. Well on social networks word of mouth is most viral form of advertising for you, your business and your brand.

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Dainaz S Illavar
Entrepreneur Author Social Media Expert
http://www.OnlineSocialDiva.com