Essential Rules for Using Social Media for Business

First, as a small businesses often have no budget to create their own websites, setting up accounts and fan pages on social networking sites (SNS) is a quicker, more practical way to reach potential clients.
Second, people are increasingly putting their trust on peers and family and less on traditional advertising for must by products and must-try services. And yes, a very good way to reach family and friends is through social media. With a good offering a small business can fight it out with big players as long as it keeps its
consumers satisfied.
10 Things you must remember when using SNS for your business.

1. Don't attempt to please everybody. Your business either deals with another business (business-to-business, or B2B), or serves consumers directly (B2B). You must therefore have a deep understanding of what your market wants, to help you streamline your online and offline efforts.
2. Be searchable. SNS are slowly replacing search engines as a tool for queries. Be on the top of search results lists by putting your company name in the URL.. in headers of the fan pages or groups. Make sure that your brand is listed in the right category.
3. Let customers know you have a fan page.
4. Read the guidelines for promotions in social networking sites.
5. Concentrate on content.
6. Post consistent, frequent update.
7. Engage, don't sell.
8. Bad publicity? Deal with it.
9. Let customers own you.
10. Hire a dedicated social media/ online community manager (OCM)