Last Thursday I posted the blog, Starting or Managing a Social Media strategy? Key terms you need to know, which was part one of a book review for How to Make Money with Social Media. Before you start using social media for your business, there are some things you should keep in mind.

In the second part of my review, I’ve consolidated some tips for managing social media to increase sales; what you need to know and what you should do when starting or managing any social media plan or strategy.

Ensure You Have the Resources

There is nothing worse than starting a social media plan and having it fail because the person in charge is stretched too thin with other duties or there wasn’t a social media coordinator designated in the first place. Before starting your plan, make sure your company has the resources, structure and capabilities to keep up your social media efforts. In saying this, do not leave the job of representing your company’s brand and image over to a summer intern. The changes are, they do not have the right resources and will not be there long enough to see it through.

Outline Your Company’s Situation Analysis

Know how your company’s goals, objectives, strategies and tactics are built. In order to be the online face and presence of a company, one must know how the company operates inside and out.

Become familiar with social media etiquette. When online, follow these guidelines:

• Show respect
• Show responsibility
• Demonstrate integrity
• Be ethical
• Add value

Education Can go a Long Way

There is more to engaging customers than posting an interesting fact or tweeting an article. Become a thought leader and educate your audience. People can sense when they are being sold to, so instead of telling them what they need, educate them on the things they could have (bringing these back around to the services you provide).

Quantity is Just as Important as Quality

Measuring the quantity of your social media efforts could include your Twitter following, your Facebook likes, blog comments and Foursquare check-ins. Measuring the quality of your social media campaign is when you look into who those Twitter followers are, who the Facebook likes are from, what people are saying to you and about you and how they are saying it. Is there a negative undertone to the responses you’re generating or are people pleased with the information you are providing them? Measuring your quantity and quality of your social media efforts will help you determine the cold leads from the warm ones.

Social media measurements include:

• Twitter followers
• Facebook fans
• Comments
• Social bookmarks
• Pageviews
• Inbound links
• Click-throughs
• Leads generated
• Ratings
• Downloads
• Conversations
• Likes
• Growth of fans
• Followers and friends
• Online mentions across blogs
• Positive and negative feedback
• Bounce rate

For more information on services pertaining to social media, take a look at our website and feel free to email, contact us or tweet us if you have any questions.