www.twitter.com

Step One - Create your Account

●     Choose a user name as close to your business name as possible

●     Choose an image to use - your logo or a good quality photo

●     Customise the background of your Twitter page to match your branding

●     Add the link to your website, and your location

●     Write your bio (160) characters using as many keywords as possible

Step Two - Start Tweeting

●     20% personal 80% business

●     begin messages to other Twitter users with @username (remember that these are open messages for all to see)

●     begin direct messages with DM @username (these are closed messages)

●     showcase your knowledge - give snippets of information for free

●     Ask questions, carry out free market research

●     tell people what you are up to

●     send people to your website or blog

●     retweet other people’s tweets

●     recommend other twitter users if they do a good job for you

●     be yourself!

●     promote your successes

Step 3 - Find some people to follow

●     Use www.followerwonk.com

●     search using keywords

●     look at other people’s accounts to assess their use and activity

●     ‘harvest’ your competitors followers

●     find your competitors, suppliers, support network and potential clients

To manage your Twitter account, consider www.hootsuite.com

To manage your followers try www.tweepi.com

Facebook

www.facebook.com

Step one - Create your account

●     You no longer need to have a personal account to own and manage a business page

●     Your personal facebook page is hidden from people viewing your business page

●     Use the ‘edit info’ icon to customise your page

●     Add a logo

●     Add your business information

●     create some extra pages, customised to your requirements - photos, discussions, case studies, videos etc

●     Remember to set your ‘profanity filter’, block any words that you don’t wish people to be able to use on your site, and also decide whether you will allow people to post on your wall.

Step two - Update your page

●     Remember with Facebook - less is more. If you update your wall too often you run the risk of annoying your fans, as your messages will appear more often on their personal page then their friends and family.

●     As a guideline we recommend updating your wall once a week, with noteworthy events, achievements or things coming up.

●     Make the other pages as interactive as you like

Step Three

●     Look at some other inspiring Facebook pages for ideas, here are some good ones:

○     Coca Cola

○     Gap

○     Victorias Secret

○     Hubspot

○     U2

○     Mashable

○     Apple

Linked In

Step One - Create your Profile

●     Remember that your linked in profile is the story of the journey you have taken to get to where you are today, so the best way to achieve 100% profile completeness is to enter as much information about yourself as possible

●     Give details about your education, career path, skills and specialisms

●     Ask for recommendations from people for whom you have worked, or people you have worked with

●     Add a profile picture

●     Add links to your website, twitter page and facebook business page

●     Remember your potential customers may view your profile as part of their decision making / shortlisting process

Step Two - Make some connections

●     Find people to connect with using the search box, and request to connect. Linked in will ask you to confirm whether you know that person, and how you know them

●     If you receive an email from Linked in asking to connect, you can refuse it.

●     You can ask to be introduced to someone through a mutual connection

●     remember that everyone you are connected to will receive updates on your activity in the lInked in summary email

Step Three - Join some groups

●     Using the Groups Directory find groups relating to your specialisms that interest you, and apply to join.

●     Use the groups to join discussions with your peers and stay abreast of latest industry developments

Step Three - Use others’ knowledge

●     If you have a question that requires a specialist answer, use the ‘answers’ section to ask it, and industry specialists will reply!

●     Use that section to answer other people’s questions, to demonstrate your knowledge