Use of Social Networks
If I had a product creator asking me the best ways to use social networks, I would advise them thusly:
Twitter: Use this for announcements. It's not useful for conversations.
Facebook: Use this for keeping up with friends and family only. Don't friend fans or people you don't know.
Google+: Use this for your professional postings. Post thoughts, new developments, pictures, convention info, etc. on this forum, and interact with the people in your circles. Reply to comments. Comment on the posts of others in your circles, especially prolific posters who have lots of other active people in their circles.
Twitter: Use this for announcements. It's not useful for conversations.
Facebook: Use this for keeping up with friends and family only. Don't friend fans or people you don't know.
If you have a Facebook Page for your company/product/what-have-you, use it for announcements.
If you have a Facebook discussion group, let the fans discuss your product. Reply when something catches your eye. If there was one place on Facebook that I were to suggest the creator cultivate professional interaction, this would be the one place.
Google+: Use this for your professional postings. Post thoughts, new developments, pictures, convention info, etc. on this forum, and interact with the people in your circles. Reply to comments. Comment on the posts of others in your circles, especially prolific posters who have lots of other active people in their circles.
Do some Hangouts. Get your fans interacted and excited. They will spread the excitement to others.
Have a Community. Treat it like the Facebook discussion group.
Website: Every business, no matter how large or how small, should have a website. Even if all you do is sell small print run booklets at cost. If that's the case, your blog can be your website. If you become a larger business, your blog (if you have one) can be a subset of a more business-focused website.
The website should be run by your computer guru. Unless it's a simple blog, the creator shouldn't have to worry about the website. Let someone else with the time and the training update your site with the latest news and products.
If your website has a Forum, let others in your business run it. The fans need to see and interact with the others in your business anyway. This is a good place for them to do it. As the creator, go on special occasions or when you have some downtime and want to interact more.
If your website has a Forum, let others in your business run it. The fans need to see and interact with the others in your business anyway. This is a good place for them to do it. As the creator, go on special occasions or when you have some downtime and want to interact more.
This is how I would do it, you know, if I was in the business. I'd love to give my theory a try!
What do you think? What have I missed?