Once you're familiar with the social media environment, follow these guidelines to make sure you don't lose momentum:
Don't just listen. Respond appropriately with helpful, accurate information to show that you have your audience's interests at heart, as well as the competence to be trusted.
Stay out of online catfights, no matter what. If someone perceives you as being nasty (even if you didn't intend to be), apologise and move on.
Look for ways to syndicate yourself to a broader audience. This could mean simply auto feeding your blog to your Twitter and Facebook feeds, or even repurposing your blog or newsletter posts into the beginnings of a book.
Make sure your home base has sharing tools like www.sharethis.com to help empower others to spread the word about your content.
Give people a way to reach you.
Be transparent. Clearly identify yourself by name and your role at the company. Be open and honest in all communication.
Be relevant. Share information and perspectives that are valuable to the online community. If you focus only on your own agenda, you will fail.
Personalise and be personable. Let your unique personality, expertise and interests shine through.
Address negative discussion head-on. Savvy companies respond to negative criticism directly. You can't please everyone, but you can show that you are listening and that you care.
Thank your happy customers. Companies tend to focus a disproportionate amount of energy on customer complaints. It is equally important to recognise the ones who may become brand evangelists. A simple 'thank you for saying thank you' goes a long way.
