Have you ever traveled somewhere and got lost? I have. In fact my friends and loved ones laugh at my inability to find my way around a city, even in cities I know well. They say things like, “Melissa, you are so bright. You can take on crowds of thousands and nail a point that others can’t seem to grasp,” “Why are you unable to find your way home in your own town?”

There is no simple answer to these statements or question, but the reason I bring it up is that these comments help me understand the plight of those wondering how to maneuver through the maze of social media options for us and our organizations. Here are two simple tips to help you get better results faster:

1. Pick Two: You know how you go to out to eat and they give you two sides to pick with your entree? Here, I’m recommending you do the same with social media. This will help you leverage those two social media tools that can be the most helpful. Recommendation: I would recommend a blog and a tool like LinkedIn and Twitter depending on what type of product or service you are selling. For a business-to-business play I would suggest LinkedIn. Twitter allows you to make a worldwide reach.  Determine your niche, and follow others with similar interests and values.  I strongly suggest tweetchats too. Learn everything you can as to how to use these tools. According to the amazing site, Hubspot, writing a blog, even once a week, will help successfully you grow inbound leads.
2. Choose Ten Companies to Follow: I am always looking for companies and leaders in those companies to follow that I admire. Right now my list includes: Digitas, Southwest Airlines, Zappos and SAS. You can follow these companies with tools like Google Alerts, Twitter and LinkedIn. Learn how these companies make the most out of their social media tools. Learn who are the most active “social media leaders” in each company. Connect to these leaders, but, first, see what matters to them most. Don’t just connect for the sake of connecting. Connect with a purpose.

What do you think? What other tips do you have? What has worked for you or your colleagues?

Related articles

• Best Social Media Tools to Build Connections (networldingblog.com)
• LinkedIn company page and follow company feature (marketing.yell.com)
• What is social media marketing? (marketing.yell.com)
• Can social media tools help to strengthen relationships? (marketing.yell.com)

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