One of the questions I’m asked most often is, “What do we do if our customers aren’t on social media?” It’s a valid question. Why spend time developing a social media monitoring, engagement or marketing strategy if you don’t think there’s anything to monitor or anyone to engage with? In other words, if a tweet falls in the forest and there’s no one there to receive it, does it make an impact?

First of all, with around 800 million people on Facebook and more than 120 million on LinkedIn, you can be fairly certain that your customers are there. Finding them becomes the challenge, and one that social media monitoring tools can overcome. But let’s approach this a different way.

What if you could help your customers become more social?

How much time do you spend thinking about the relevance of social media to your business? What about, wondering what tools to use and what networks to try? Your customers are thinking the same things, and asking the same questions. The very fact that you’re reading this blog post means you’ve begun your social media journey, and someone can benefit from what you’ve learned, even if you’re just getting started.

I have a friend named John Doyle, who works for Alure Home Improvements on Long Island, New York. Alure has a great social media story, thanks in part to their work rebuilding homes for deserving families as part of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. John has learned a lot about how social media supports Alure’s business objectives through hands-on, real-world trial and error. And now he speaks to groups of folks all around Long Island about social media and how it can work for them. I imagine John becomes the first Facebook or Twitter connection for a lot of the people he helps. And when it comes time for those people to remodel their bathroom or their kitchen, who do you think will come to mind? (I’ve heard this referred to as the “baby bird” theory, which makes sense, but brings to mind a little more worm imagery than I’m completely comfortable with.)

Even if you don’t think of yourself as a social media expert, you can share what you learn with your customers and community. It’s easy to start a blog on WordPress.com, or a site like Tumblr or Posterous. Then let your customers know about it through your regular channels, like your email newsletter or website. Heck, you could even tell them in person.

You don’t have to sound like an expert. “We’ve started this blog to share what we’re learning in social media. We hope you’ll share the journey with us, let us know what questions you’re trying to answer, and what’s working for you.”

You don’t have to answer every question. You can share the questions you’re asking and the goals you want to achieve. Then when you answer them, you’ll have even more to share. Most of the successful social media bloggers I know started that way, and have built their networks by sharing what they’ve learned.

Your customers already know you. They like you. They trust you. They’re all wondering about this social media stuff, and they would love for you to help them figure it out. And they will thank you for it.

In what ways are you empowering customers to be more social? How else can you deepen customer relationships?

David B. Thomas is Director of Community and Social Strategy at Radian6. He’s also a dad, a home cook, a music nerd and tech geek, and co-author of The Executive’s Guide to Enterprise Social Media Strategy: How Social Networks Are Radically Transforming Your Business. Follow him on Twitter at @davidbthomas.

Tags: corporate, customer, engagement, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Facebook, intermediate, Linkedin, Marketing, relations