A Social Media Strategy - Where To Start

During my seminar presentations I probably sell the concept of a social media strategy like a salesman, get you on a high and all excited about the potential it brings to you and then leave you on your own to do it. That's the impression I'm getting lately, the more i do of the seminar presentations the less time i get to actually spend time with agents in their offices advising on where to start, so I've decided to post about the steps to take to get you on the road.

If you are wanting to start your blog or social media strategy, first thing to do before you set up, is listen.

Listen to conversations on blogs that are of interest to you and your business or the area you want to enter into.

Search for conversations from like minded blog writers and a good place to start is to sign up for Google alerts, create the alert on the subject you want to "listen" too, for example, if you want to follow real estate blogs, then create the alert on Google for "RealEstateBlogs", sure your email inbox will fill up with blog posts in no time, but this is a great place start and to see what topic is being written about and who is doing the talking.

Follow the conversations and take note of the way the writer structures the information, more importantly, take note of the content and whether it provides you with really good information or advice that you find useful. Once you have decided what you like, then start to engage.
Do this by commenting on blog posts you like, giving a blog writer feedback joins you in the conversation that blog writer is having with his or her readers.

Join Twitter and Facebook and any other social media site you'd like to participate in and listen.
Now, once you have all the research and are aware of how the conversations take place, is the time to get your hands dirty. It's time to create your own masterpiece and dive into the conversation.

Make sure your information is engaging, challenging and stimulating, continue to listen and join in conversations on other blogs, and you'll be on your way.
Next, I'll talk about designing your strategy and target market.

This post now available as a podcast here.