A 4-Part Guide to Using Facebook & Twitter - Part 1: Getting into the social media scene

This is a 4-part guide to using Facebook and Twitter for those already running their own online communities on their own sites.

It starts from the very beginning, so if you are already a huge fan of these two websites and use them a lot professionally – move on to Part 2 where I get into the detail. …Though you’re more than welcome to read the first part as a little refresher on where we’ve been and where we’re at now. Part 2: Your online presence and information overload.

Part 1: Getting into the social media scene

Search Google for using Facebook and Twitter professionally, and your results page will turn up myriad ways of promoting your business or organisation on these websites. Initially I made a conscious choice not to read any of these guides and follow my instinct, although I have now grown to a place where I enjoy taking a look at the advice of others every now and then. I think it’s important to note the successes and failures that others have had, and to draw inspiration. But my starting point was a fresh one – I didn’t want to be too influenced by others’ ideas so that I could create my own unique approach.

Try it yourself!

To understand how to use social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, the most sensible place to start would be to create a personal profile for yourself, dive in and start using these websites. Add all of your personal friends and contacts.  Add other businesses similar to yours, news sources you’re interested in, communities you’re a part of, blogs you watch – anything which interests you. Watch how those people use Facebook and Twitter. Go another step and begin communicating and interacting. Only then can you understand what works in these spaces (and what works best for which space, as each outlet has very different uses). And often it’s an understanding of what you don’t like that enables you to envision how you would like to run your own professional account.

Because feelings of distaste seem to run high for the ever-changing world of ‘what’s happening right now’, I think it’s important to back up for a moment and clear the air. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t like Facebook or Twitter, or perhaps views them as a waste of time and “too much information” – you’ll have to get over it. Because if you’re going to use one of these sites professionally you’re not going to get the most out of your time there if you’ve got a slight hostility towards the medium.

When Twitter first arrived on the scene I decided wholeheartedly that I would not be using it. I had enough social media in my life, and I didn’t need another. Then my clients started asking me how to use Twitter and I realised that I must stop fighting change, join in and see what it was all about. I’m actually really glad that I did, because I made it work for me and I was able to see how it would work for others (and I realised it was time to move off of other time-consuming social media websites with little value). I also accepted the reality that things are going to change again – and again and again – and that tomorrow’s Twitter and Facebook are just around the corner so I may as well start learning to adapt.

Join in where your audience is talking

Once you’re ready to start using social media websites, you might be wondering which ones you should use.  Simply put - go where your audience is and don’t waste valuable time elsewhere or spread yourself too thin across many spaces. There is only so much time in a day, so pick your social media outlets wisely. If you’re working with a charity or not-for-profit organisation, Facebook is probably going to be your primary vehicle for interacting with your audience at this grassroots level. Twitter is likely to be another point of contact to reach your audience. But you may not be likely to find so many people on LinkedIn (though you may find corporate support!).

Likewise, if you’re running a professional community of any type, LinkedIn is the current choice in business and professional networking, with Facebook also on the map. Twitter is also huge for business professionals, but probably only the more technologically savvy folks.

Think about how your audience uses the internet, where they hang out online, what they need from their time spent online, and join them there. Use your time wisely.

The importance of the ease of sharing

A little background information for you before moving into Part 2. Facebook and Friend Feed in particular have changed the way social networking websites share your information with your contacts. What really put them in a league beyond MySpace was making all of your actions able to be broadcast to your contacts. Take MySpace for example. People running professional or charitable accounts on MySpace were in a bit of a predicament – each time they made a change to their profile, added photos, joined a group supporting a specific cause, etc., these actions were completely unnoticeable by their contacts. Unless your contacts were visiting your professional or charitable profile page on a regular basis, they would have no idea what you’ve been up to. This meant that people had to rely on a synopsis of recent changes being written and published as a “Bulletin”, which would appear on the home page of each contact.

Facebook simplified this by finally realising that people do not have time on a regular basis to be visiting the profiles of people they follow (nor should they have to!).  So now when your contacts log into Facebook and view their "Live Feed" they can automatically see who your new friends are, what Groups you’ve joined, photos that you’ve added, causes that you support, friends you’ve added, and so on. This may sound like a lot of action but it’s actually really brilliant because it means that you can evaluate and use these mini-broadcasts to your advantage. By the way, the degree to which these items are broadcast can be edited to your preferences by visiting your Privacy Settings. If you’re working with SiftGroups we will help you set these, as every professional account will have different needs and therefore different settings.

This week, join Facebook or Twitter (or reacquaint yourself with these spaces) and start to watch how people use them. Communicate and interact. What annoys you? What catches your attention?  Also start considering how you might use these websites once you set up your professional account.  How do you want to come across to your contacts? What would you like them to think of you? What are some activities which you think would work? Which activities might drive your audience nuts?

In Part 2 I discuss your online presence and the types of information I share on Facebook and Twitter. Part 2: Your online presence and information overload.

In the final two parts of this guide, I’m going to get into the nitty-gritty. First I’ll take Facebook and give you a detailed breakdown of my daily work there. And then I’ll do the same with Twitter.

Part 3: Facebook and a month in the life of a part-time community manager

Part 4: Twitter and a month in the life of a part-time community manager