Many people misunderstand how to use social media; they tend to forget the social part. No matter the medium —blog, Twitter, Facebook fan page, Youtube, etc—the key is to simply talk to people.

When someone walks in the door of your business, the first thing out of your mouth is not “How can I take your money today?”

No. It is usually “Hello, how can I help?”

When starting out on Twitter, people want to know you are a valuable resource for information and can hold a conversation.

How much extra time do you have? Probably very little you deem to be available or free. There is always something needing your attention.

How can an already thinly stretched sole proprietor find time for one more activity in their day?

The obvious answer is to make time somewhere in your schedule.

The reality to this answer is, your spare time is already scarce. By adding a new task to your day, you need to eliminate something. Right?

When retweeting someone’s update on Twitter, make sure to add in your thoughts on the link you are endorsing.

It lets the author know you read their work and also lets your followers why they should take the time to read it.

Sometimes the author did not leave much room for a comment, in this case it is acceptable to write your own description of the article you are endorsing.

image credit burningkarma

The hype over Twitter and other social sites is amazing. Everyone comes to see what all the hype is about.  Many peek through the door, don’t recognize anything and move on. Unfortunately, most don’t stick around to figure out the possibilities.

Social sites have a few very powerful qualities; one of them being almost real-time search. If harness correctly, searching these sites are a window into your audience never available. Many marketing-types have already figured out how to use this information gold mine. Below are some tips to help you get started.