The landscape for a small business online presence has changed over the years, from a simple informational website to search engine optimization. Now, it’s about social media and this change is a good thing because social media has the potential to drive more customers to a business at less cost. Harnessing this potential is a bit more difficult, so here are some tips to get started:

1. Listen and Observe

First and foremost, in order to succeed in a social media environment, you need to learn how that community operates. Observe how people interact and how you can take part. Learning this initial step can go a long way towards helping your future endeavors.

2. Start a Profile

If you observed correctly, starting a profile in Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or any other social media platform isn’t just about typing in some company information and expecting the customers to start flowing. In creating a profile, you need to have a face behind it. Social media is about interacting with a human and not some corporate entity. The more directly engaged you can be as a person representing a company, the more successful the interaction.

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