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When I first started to use social media, I took the “bull in the china shop” approach. It’s not the most elegant method but I’ve found that you can apply it to almost any situation in life. There are always a few disasters to sweep up with this method and I picked up a few hints, tips and tricks in the aftermath. Over time, I developed a set of guidelines that would be useful for SMB and professional people looking to engage in social media.

Detailed below are recommendations gleaned from my experiences. Some of them were learned the hard way so take a few moments to review them. If you have any additional tips, we’d love to hear about them.

Things to Do

1. Be transparent in all your dealings. There isn’t a social media community that won’t sanction you if people in the community get a whiff of deceit or underhanded technique.

2. Use a picture. Remember you are building relationships and you’re using a visual medium. A picture makes people feel like they’re dealing with a real person. Make it easy on yourself and use the same picture for all the tools. If you’d rather not post a photo of yourself, get an avatar based on a photo. As a last resort, use a logo from your company. Whatever you do, don’t let the photo link remain blank.

3. Pick a short, descriptive user id that can be used across all tools. A common id is going to make it easy for people to follow and find you on multiple social media channels. Ideally, make it the name of your company or something that easily identifies who you are.

4. Use your real name. While your user id is how you will sign on to a tool, your associated profile should have your name. When people start investigating whether they want to have a social media relationship with you, they’re going to want to know that it’s a real, accessible person with whom they’re communicating.

5. Keep your details updated. If a prospect can’t find you easily, they probably won’t bother to look farther than the first dead end.

6. Make regular, frequent posts. Social media requires regular activity. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time – less than 20 minutes a day if you like – but you need to be consistently present in your community.

7. Be social but keep all communication at a professional level. If you’re having trouble with how to achieve this, consider the conversations you’d have in an office hallway or while waiting at the photocopier.

8. Be generous with resources. If you’ve found a good article in the newspaper, had a good experience with a business or know someone doing a great job, tell your network.

9. Shorten your URLs when providing website links. Most social media tools, especially Twitter, have a limit on the number of characters you are allowed. A number of URL shorteners provide useful statistics about usage of the link. The most popular URL shorteners are bitly and tinyurl.

10. List yourself in social media directories. Two good ones are Twellow and We Follow. These directories are great places to find people to populate your network.

11. Adopt a Quality vs. Quantity mentality when it comes to followers. Remember, you’re in this for business. It’s not a popularity contest. A lot has been written about the etiquette around following everyone who follows you, but that doesn’t make sense. Ideally, your followers are people who are prospective customers. You want these people and also the thought leaders in your field in your network. Having quality followers removes you from the “What are you eating for breakfast?” nonsense.

12. Connect your tools with each other as much as possible. The Company Buzz feature on LinkedIn allows you to follow specific keywords being discussed on Twitter. The Blog Link application on LinkedIn follows the blogs of your connections. Twitter and Facebook have many different interfaces.

Things Not to Do

1. Don’t be selfish, self-centred or self-serving. Your connections and followers will rebel. We’ve all been to the dinner party dominated by a corporate bore. Don’t be a social media bore. Share information, ask questions and build relationships. If you do, the opportunity to promote your business will arise on a daily basis.

2. Don’t spam. Don’t peddle porn.

3. Don’t use a suggestive or controversial photo. You’re trying to promote your business and it’s best not to do it showing a lot of skin or wielding a firearm.

4. Don’t use foul language.

5. Don’t send out quotes. This is usually a sign of a spammer or an affiliate marketer. You’re unlikely to inspire anyone and it demonstrates lack of original thought.

6. Don’t get too personal. No one really cares about your sex life, what you had for dinner or whether your bathtub needs cleaning. This sort of information only weakens your professional brand. Additionally, you don’t want to reveal so much information that your private life is jeopardised in some way.

7. Don’t comment on controversial subjects. You may have strong views on late-term abortions or sex education in primary schools, but sharing these opinions probably isn’t going to win you any business.