Twitter, Blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn…It’s all a bit much isn’t it? At first, it may be, but as with anything, creating a strong social media presence takes time, effort and a plan. Without a strategy behind social media, it is just a time suck that no one can afford. Done right, using these 4 tools can shape a strong marketing strategy with an even stronger ROI.

So, how do you manage them correctly? For each business, it will be slightly different, but here are 5 steps for each tool that we use in our strategy:

Twitter

1. Find 5 new people to add to our followers list every day. Also, look at the people that have followed us and determine whether or not to follow back. There are auto tools that can do this, but we find a personal approach is better in the long run for building a strong network.
2. Reply to at least 5 questions/comments with actual answers, something that adds value to the conversation.
3. Send out 5 interesting links that can benefit our community as a whole. Add my thoughts with the link so that my followers know why I am sharing. Read at least 3 links that are sent out by my followers that are pertinent to my business.
4. Spend a total of 1 hour on chit chat throughout the day to make sure to keep the connections strong
5. Tweet 5 times from my own personal/business thoughts to start conversation

Blogs

1. Write. Jot down ideas and create drafts to work on later. I strive for 3-5 posts per week.
2. Read through your current comments and respond to anyone who has made a strong point or asked a question
3. Comment on 3 other blogs that you read, with genuine thoughts, not just “good post”.
4. Stumble/Digg/Share at least 1 interesting post from another blog author
5. Look for 1 new blog to subscribe to. Remember, it is okay to subscribe to some blogs just for fun.

Facebook

1. Check if any of your friends are having birthdays. I recommend sending a tweet or email, it shows you took a little extra effort
2. Update your business page with any new information or changes
3. Respond to any new wall posts – make sure that it is a quality response.
4. Send a message to at least one connection whom deserves special notice
5. Comment on at least 5 status updates

LinkedIn

1. Comment on at least 1 status update
2. Answer at least 2 questions that are pertinent to you. Pose 1 question per week.
3. Look through recommended connections and add anyone who is interesting
4. Check on the forums in your group and respond to any inquiries
5. Update your own status.

If this list seems like a lot of work – it is. Nothing worth doing is easy, and it is definitely worth doing right. Remember, just doing it for the sake of doing it doesn’t benefit anyone. It needs to be done right, participated in correctly, and planned accordingly. It is as easy to ruin a brand in social media as it is to improve it, especially with the number of people watching. But, the work is worth it when it pays of with a strong community network that not only respects you, but can turn into prospective clients.

What strategy do you use to manage your social media – or are you still missing that piece?