In Act I, scene iii of Hamlet, the character of Polonius prepares his son Laertes for travel abroad with a speech (ll.55-81),

This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell, my blessing season this in thee!

Authenticity counts in Social Media

In all your travels, and especially in the business world.  Your customers, partners and employees appreciate transparency.  The people who interact with you know who you are and they trust you when you honestly own up to any mistakes that your company makes, and you try to rectify them.  With 40% or more of your customers coming from blogs and social media, the opportunity is constantly there to interact with your customer.

Embrace the media available to you!

Utilize the different technology available to you to reach your audience: Real-time Linked in, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare; Just in time: YouTube, Webinars, Podcasts, blogs, forums, technologies like social media, web analytics, marketing optimization, and customer relationship management systems.  Instead of blocking access, understand that social media is the communication method most widely used now.  Establish guidelines for your company and train your employees how to positively interact with consumers.

Be Different: Experiment.  Try new things. 

Improvise both individually and as a team.  Know what your coworkers are doing, but don't copy them.  For that matter, know what your competition is doing but don't copy them either.  Have people in your company with different skill sets and utilize them.  Learn from your failures and successes.  Meet with your team regularly to adjust to changes and move forward.

Establish a New Category

Create your own persona.  What makes you and your company stand out? Redefine industry boundaries and find your own niche.  Don't try to fit everyone.

Want some help creating your social media guidebook? Ask us how.