Are you starting an online home based business, and don't have the foggiest idea how to do this ‘social media thing'? Is the only social media exercise you do, playing games or lurking on Facebook? Well, your home business needs to be seen all over cyberspace, so you better dive in and give it a go.

First Thing

There are no experts, there are so many different platforms, and things keep changing. If you and your home business are new to social media, don't sweat it.

Everybody is still learning, and will continue to learn, as our society and the social platforms change and morph daily. I don't believe there are social media experts, because nobody knows it all. Who could keep up? There are lots of social media gurus, specialists, advisors, consultants, geeks, and people like you and me that find our own niche to connect with people.

Second Thing

You can read about social media all you want, but you'll only learn by jumping in.

Observing and listening are the best ways to get your feet wet. For example, create a Twitter account, find some like-minded people to follow, most will follow you back, and watch what they say and how they say it. You are only allowed 140 characters, after all. Most people share things (i.e. links to articles, reports, interesting news, etc.) about their industry, their neighbourhood, their successes, etc. Soon, you will be sharing ideas and finding more like-minded people to build your community.

Facebook is similar, but has more opportunities to get creative. If you don't have one, create a Facebook account. You can be pretty sure that friends, family and coworkers are members. Send them a ‘friend invite' and watch your network grow. After awhile you can get fancy and create a fan ‘Page' which is more business-like, and much like a mini website.

Third Thing

There are some rules, etiquette and expected behaviour in the social media playground, and you'll want to make sure you represent your online business well.

You've probably heard this before, but social media is about having conversations, engaging people. Just be friendly and authentic. Nobody wants to hear from somebody that sounds like a corporation. People buy from people, but people want to be helped. They want to find solutions. They don't want a hard sales pitch. Give them something entertaining, enlightening, or educational.

The basic rule for posting to any social platform is the three-and-one rule. If you are going to post information four times in a day, three of them should be adding value, sharing something. The other one, should be something about you, or something that shows you are a person and not a cyberbot.

Do a search for Facebook 101 or Twitter 101, and you'll find all kinds of resources to help you get started. The best time to start is today. If you don't have online presence for your home business, be assured your competitors do.