Using Twitter, like all social media, is an art. The main thing to remember is to be social and interact with the people you or your company connect with.

One quick way to ruin your Twitter credibility, is to use Twitter as a platform as a sales broadcast tool. Twitter is about networking – not about direct sales. It’s Twitter not XanGo. Your goal isn’t to see what the tally is at the end of the day. Instead, your goal is about connecting with people on a somewhat personal level. Here’s a great example of what not to do. You wouldn’t broadcast on the streets of New York like this gentleman does, nor should you broadcast on Twitter (or Facebook, Google+, or any other social media site).

Disclaimer: Of course, sales are the lifeblood of every business and whatever industry you are in, if you can sell aggressively and deliver what you sell, you’re on the road to mega-success.

My point? Twitter is not your store front. It’s the vehicle that drives your connections to the storefront. Twitter is simply a way to get to the store.

To be a successful ‘tweeter’ vary your messages between encouraging and uplifting others, offering helpful tidbits in your area of expertise, and sharing a little something about real life sprinkled with the occasional offer or link to your site. I recommend you consider a ratio of about 20 to 1. For every sales tweet, you need 20 interactive tweets without pitches or site links. The exception to this is if you have a blog with frequently updated content. There is nothing wrong with letting people know you’ve posted to your blog, but it is critical that you are also posting the other types of tweets.

So get tweeting and have a little fun. Try connecting with people BEFORE you try to sell them your products and services.

Even if you are just getting started with social media, you’ve probably heard of Facebook. The Facebook social network has revolutionized keeping in touch over the internet. Friends and family can now connect with each other in a network of relationships, sending emails, playing trivia quizzes and games, sharing photos and generally having casual day-to-day contact that is often difficult due to geographical distances and busy lifestyles.

Facebook isn’t just for teens and young adults. It is a wonderful and practical way for people of all ages to keep in touch on a regular basis and share information. And we’re here to help you get started.

Step 1: Set up an account

• Go to www.facebook.com and enter your full name, email address, desired password, gender, and date of birth.
• When you’re done, hit the green “Sign Up” button.
• If you are a current high school student, you will have the option to join one of their supported high school networks. If you are no longer in high school, you can join one of their college or workplace networks.
• After you complete the sign up form, they will send an email to the address you provided. Clicking on the confirmation link will complete the sign up process.

Step 2: Set up your Facebook Profile
Now that you’ve created your account, it’s time to set up your profile. Your profile allows you to share your interests, activities, and anything else you want to include with people you connect to on Facebook.

Your Facebook profile is about representing yourself and sharing what’s going on in your life with your friends.

• To edit your profile at any time, click on the “Edit Information” link at the upper right corner of your Basic Info or click on the “Edit” icons on the upper right corner of each of your profile fields.
• Each profile information section represents what people will see when they arrive at your profile. Start by filling out the info that will help people identify you—Basic, Education, and Work. Note: Filling out your Education and Work Info is especially helpful since it enables your former (and current) classmates and coworkers to find you via search.
• Having a profile picture makes it easier for friends to identify you as being the real you, especially if you have a common name. In addition, the picture you select is another way to express who you are to your friends and family.

Step 3: Find your friends
Most of Facebook’s features depend on the idea that there are people in your life that you like to stay in touch and connect with. Whether these people are best friends, family, coworkers, or acquaintances, once you connect to them, they are considered Facebook friends. Facebook has created a few ways for you to easily find your friends and we have listed them below.

• Friend Finder asks you for your email address and password. Facebook then runs a check of the emails in your address book to see if any of the addresses match people who currently have profiles on Facebook. You can select which people you would like to send friend requests; friendships on Facebook need to be confirmed by both people before they become official.
• Searching for classmates is an easy way to find good friends that you may have lost track of along the way. To get to Classmate Search, roll over “Friends” in the top menu and select “Find Friends.” At the bottom of that page, you’ll see links to search for classmates if you’ve added school networks.
• Coworker search is an easy way to find people you know from your current or former job. You can find Coworker Search in the same page as Classmate Search. Once you get to the Coworker Search page, simply enter a company and hit search. You might want to enter a name if you’re looking for someone in particular, but it’s not required.
• At any time, no matter where you are on Facebook, you can use the quick search box (at the top right corner of the top menu) to search for your friends by name. Simply type in the name you are looking for and hit enter. If you get no results, check to make sure you didn’t misspell or use a former name. If not, you can try searching by that person’s email address if you know it.

So now what? If a few of your friends have confirmed your friend requests, you can really start to explore Facebook and check out your friends. Seriously, go read all the fun things you can do once you have your friend list set up. Facebook is all about keeping up with friends both new and old.

Follow me on Twitter. Join my Facebook group. Link to me on LinkedIn. See my video on YouTube.

In the olden days – say five years ago – it was enough for a small business to market its services with advertising and public relations. But in the last few years, an avalanche of new opportunities has cascaded on the Internet in the form of social networking sites. These sites give entrepreneurs more opportunities to get the word out about their companies, but they’ve also made many of us feel overwhelmed, trying to keep up. What’s a small business person to do? Do you really have to be Tweeting all day?

For the uninitiated or under-initiated, I’m here to help. First, recognize the advantages and limitations of social networking sites.

Advantages:

• Connect with lots of new people, just as with real-life networking.
• Get the word out without an intermediary, such as a pesky reporter or columnist!
• Establish yourself as an expert in a field.
• Stay on top of your field and your competitors.
• Connect with your own customers.

Limitations:

• Can consume a huge amount of time.
• Most connections will never convert to paying clients or customers.
• A zillion of your competitors are out there.

Managing your social networking visibility can be a full-time job – in fact, many companies employ people just to be doing that. But you have a business to run.

So here’s Rhonda’s handy-dandy field guide to social networking sites as they relate to your small business.

Twitter. Twitter’s the Internet darling of the moment, allowing users to send very short messages (limited to 140 characters) known as “tweets.” You could choose to ‘follow’ me by searching for Rhonda Abrams. (Twitter doesn’t allow spaces so my Twitter name is RhondaAbrams). I “tweet” about things I think small business people would find interesting or sometimes amusing. This enables you to get more of Rhonda Abrams (you do want more, don’t you?) than you can from just my weekly column.

Twitter is expanding wildly, but a recent study showed there’s a huge number of “Twitter Quitters” — 60% of people who start Twitter stop within a month. So the jury’s still out on Twitter’s usefulness from a long-term business standpoint. In the meantime, Twitter’s a good way to keep your name in front of people.

LinkedIn. Unlike all the other major social networking sites, LinkedIn is dedicated to helping people connect for business rather than social purposes. While I’m not a power user of LinkedIn, I’ve found it useful to search for consultants and contractors, identify people in companies I hope to do business with. It’s also become a major source for posting professional job openings. If you’re a consultant, headhunter, or sell business services, you definitely need to check out LinkedIn.

Facebook. The heavy-weight of social networking in the U.S., Facebook is great for keeping in touch with people you care about and finding people you’re out of touch with. You can create a fan page for your business (we have one for my company, The Planning Shop) or start or join a group related to your interests. I love it for seeing what my family and friends are up to. Because so many people are on Facebook, we plan on dedicating more time to our company’s Facebook page soon.

MySpace. Once the leading social networking site, it’s lost ground to Facebook, especially among adults. But it’s still a huge draw, especially for teenagers. It’s also good for building support for certain types of business, such as bands and other music-related companies.

YouTube. This site is all about videos, so you may think it has nothing to do with business. But businesses have discovered it’s a great way to provide information to prospects and customers. Why not take some video of the products you sell or of you describing your services (or video testimonials) and upload them to YouTube? Then, you can direct prospects to YouTube to check it out.

One thing’s for sure: social networking is here to stay. Most businesses will need to know how to use it. I’d like to know your business experiences with social networking sites. Email me at Rhonda@PlanningShop.com. Or send me a Tweet!

Rhonda Abrams is president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books for entrepreneurs. Her newest book is Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies. Register for Rhonda’s free business tips at www.PlanningShop.com. For an index of her columns, click here. Copyright Rhonda Abrams 2009.