The buzz around social media has been growing to a near crescendo. People are blogging, connecting with friends on Facebook, posting updates to Twitter, and getting LinkedIn. Is your business or organization still on the social media sideline, looking to get into the game but unsure of how to proceed, or are you wondering if the business value is there? We’ve assembled the basics so you can learn in a hurry.

1. Facebook
Facebook is, by numbers alone, the most popular social networking site today, with more than 750 million registered users. It’s a site that lets people share updates, photos, videos, articles, and more with “Friends,” who they have to approve to be in their network. Businesses and organizations can create “Fan Pages,” which other Facebook users can become fans of, just like they do sports teams, musicians, and celebrities.

What’s good about it?
• The user base is huge, and that means many of your customers and constituents are already there.
• It’s easy to use.
• Multimedia content can be integrated with your profile.
• You can separate your personal and professional use.

What’s not so good about it?
• You have limited ability to customize your Fan Page.
• Fan Pages do not have email alerts; you will have to check to see if there is any activity.
• It’s a closed environment — only Facebook users can become fans or friends of your business or organization.

2. Twitter
Twitter is a social networking service that allows users to communicate with their “Followers.” It’s open to anyone, so you can follow or be followed by people you know and people you don’t. Users choose a “handle” that is their user name preceded by the @ symbol, and communicate via short messages and updates (called “Tweets”) that have a maximum length of 140 characters. Tweets can be very easily “Retweeted” (RT) and shared with the simple click of a button.

What’s good about it?
• The “Timeline” (or the Twitter feed) is public, which can help to give your business or organization greater exposure in web search results.
• The site is more open than Facebook, so it’s easier to build a community of potential customers you don’t personally know.
• Fans can “follow you” without you having to reciprocate.
• There is a quick way to share links to content.
• Users are very vocal, so if they are happy with your business or organization, they’ll say so.

What’s not so good about it?
• The site is text only — pictures and video are shared through secondary links.
• It’s challenging to say something of significance in only 140 characters.
• Lots of “noise.” With so many identical-looking Tweets, it’s hard to make a single one stand out in the crowd.
• Spammers are increasingly targeting the service.
• Users are very vocal, so if they have a problem with something, they’ll say so.

3. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the more “professional” social network of the Big Three. It lets users createwhat amounts to an online resume and connect with other peers — be it friends,colleagues, or other business associates — through online networking. Businesses andorganizations can also set up profiles on the site; many businesses use it to recruit (and check references) for new hires.

What’s good about it?
• The “six-degrees” nature of the site allows you to reach out to people through already existing connections.
• Profiles are straightforward and connections can be easily made.
• Not a lot of “noise” and clutter.
• Allows for Question and Answer inquiries with a professional slant.

What’s not so good about it?
• It’s the smallest of the Big Three social networks, though its population is growing.
• It’s a more stodgy environment, which doesn’t convey fun.
• Job seekers are more active on the site than those already employed.
• People use the site for purely professional purposes, so marketing messages are not always welcome.

5. Blogs
A blog, by definition, is simply a content publishing tool that displays your posts in cronological order, with the most recent on top and earlier ones below. Your content can be whatever you wish: opinions, education, news, product reviews, etc.

What’s good about them?
• They provide an easy way to manage articles and content.
• Each new post adds a new web page and increases your web presence — and helps your search engine optimization.
• Blogs can serve as an archive for your newsletter content.

What’s not so good about them?
• Blogs must be updated somewhat regularly to derive value.
• They take more time than Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, etc. to keep current.
• Templates through free services can be limiting.
• Employing an advanced design requires some knowledge of HTML and CSS.

Alright, now you know the basics about which social media networks are which, and what’s notable about them. Here are some quick reasons why you should dip your foot into the social media waters comfortably.

1. They’re free. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace all offer free accounts.
You can even blog for free with services like WordPress.com and Google’s Blogger.com.
Some — like LinkedIn — do offer paid accounts with more features that are targeted at
more advanced users, but for the purposes of getting started, there’s no upfront cost for
most of the social networking sites.

2. They’re popular. Facebook alone has more than 400 million users. To put that in
perspective: That’s more than the population of the entire United States. Chances are
good that many of your customers or the people you want to reach are on at least one of
the social media networks.

3. They’re not just for college kids. One major stereotype associated with many
forms of social media: They’re only for young folks. This is not true at all. In fact,
comScore reported that usage of Facebook by users 18–24 actually went down each
month during the third quarter of 2009. According to Facebook, its fastest growing
demographic is users over the age of 35. And, the Pew Internet & American Life Project
says the median age of a Twitter user is 31. That same Pew survey says 40 is the median
age of LinkedIn users.

4. They allow you to be personal and professional. On Facebook, you
can have two identities: one for you and one for your business or organization.
Facebook offers an option known as “Fan Pages,” which are different from the
standard “Friend” connections, and allows you to message just to “Fans,” keeping
any personal information about you separate and contained to your profile.
[Note: Facebook will not allow one person to have two separate accounts,
so you need to have a personal “Friend” account on the site to start a Fan Page.]