Social media, social networking, web 2.0. Whatever you call it, it is here to stay and those who figure out how to use it and capitalize on it will be better off in the long run. But before you can use it, you need to understand it, ask questions and figure out the details. So, let’s get started with the 3 top questions we get asked about social media.

1. What IS social media/networking? The technical definition from Wikipedia is, “Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media supports the human need for social interaction with technology, transforming broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). It supports the democratization of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers.” But really, social media is the tools that you use to communicate with a large group of people very quickly. Social networking is the creation of a group of people who want to know what you have to say, and listen when you create content. It is a combination of marketing, communicating and listening to each other to build a stronger web base. For some great insight on the power of social media, check out the social media revolution.
2. What are the most popular social media channels? Depending on your goal with social media, this answer will shift a bit. We have talked extensively in the past about the benefits of each of these tools, and what you can do with them. But, for the majority of businesses (whether B2C or B2B) the top tools to take a look at are: blogging (wordpress is the most used platform), twitter, facebook, linkedin and youtube. These 5 tools will be useful for almost all companies, regardless of who you sell to, it’s just the way they are used that will change. For example, if you market to consumers, you may use twitter as a channel to connect with your buyers and tweet about sales. If you sell to businesses, you may use it to ask questions, share links and create a brand. You can have a blog that goes out to the public, or use a blog internally in your business to promote within.
3. How much time should be dedicated to social media? This answer is a little more difficult, as the amount of time that you spend is going to be directly correlated to the results that you want and in the time frame you want them. Looking for fast results and have the financial capacity? Many companies will hire an internal person that’s full-time job is to manage their social networks and create content. If you don’t have the time to dedicate to find the perfect person, it can be a full-time job for your marketing agency (like us) who has a staff that will take care of all the details and just provide you with the results. If the problem is the financial capacity, you may have to start on a slower scale, and once the results start to come in, you can dedicate more time to social media. The point, whichever you choose, is consistency. Stick with it, and the results will be there.

Have more questions about social media and how you can use it? Post them in the comments!