The next social media wave: Five golden rules to follow

Social media is a relatively cost effective tool that increasing numbers of Australian businesses, regardless of size or sector, are eagerly grasping.

Granted, this surging enthusiasm for all things Twitter and Facebook is starting from a low base – a Sensis study from last year found that just 14% of Australian companies have a social media presence.

It’s clear that social media can not only complement your sales and marketing efforts, it can form an entire basis of a business, as our story this week on the retail start-up with no website that gathered an army of 87,000 Facebook fans in just 18 months shows.

But the social media landscape is constantly shifting. While Facebook still looks a good bet for start-ups, recent research shows that its growth has slowed dramatically, while relative newcomer Pinterest is enjoying booming growth among users.

This changing market demands that entrepreneurs work even harder on their social media efforts, to ensure they stay relevant with their target customers.

Adam Franklin, founder of digital agency Bluewire Media, says: “To paraphrase Thomas Edison, social media is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”

“It’s easy and fun to take the plunge into social media. You begin with lofty visions of millions of fans hanging on your every tweet. Then reality sets in, and you realise it can be hard work staying on the social media treadmill.”

“That’s why you need a social media activity schedule and some old-fashioned perseverance.”

With this in mind, we spoke to the experts to compile the five golden rules of social media that every start-up should heed.

To read each golden rule, follow the tabs below.