How many countless times did you ask your parents for something or to go somewhere and their initial answer was no, but your response was, “Well, everyone has it!” or “Everyone is going!” What was the response of your parents? Or perhaps you are a parent now and have used this response with your children… “Just because everyone is doing it doesn’t mean you have to. Would you jump off a cliff if everyone was doing it?” Why jump into social media? Because everyone is doing it? It wasn’t a good enough reason for your parents and it won’t be a good enough reason for your organization.

• Set Realistic Expectations – Getting started in social media does not begin with the tools, but with goals, strategies and objectives. Be up front and understand  your motives and align with business goals. Is your organization seeking additional leads leads, increase of direct sales, greater brand awareness, conversions, or brand engagement?
• Address Obstacles – If you are not using social media already, why not?
• Avoid I want! I want! I want! - Shiny new gadgets do not precede strategy. Keep it simple. You don’t have to be on every social network. Find out where your community exists and begin engaging with them there.
• Prepare resources - Human and financial investment is vital. Don’t bite off more than you can chew until you have a sense of where you are going, but don’t fail your social media attempt before you even begin by not giving your objectives legs and commitment.
• Integrate social media enterprise-wide - Don’t just educate your team. This does not mean everyone has to be comfortable participating in social networks, but people will open their minds and business resources a little more if you help them understand the context of why the organization should be in social media.

Getting a foothold in social media does not have to be painful if you have path in place to rise to the top. We will be opening this conversation to you in an upcoming webinar, but I want to get you thinking about what you would recommend to an organization just getting started in social media? Don’t brush off this month’s 101 topic of Getting Started in Social Media as something only those who are new to the space may benefit from…there is room for all of us to grow. What are your lessons learned?