Because I’m not always stellar about updating some of the other pages of my blog, I wanted to collect the ebooks I’ve written all in one place, so you can have at them if you need them, and so I have an easy place to point folks to when they ask. I’m hoping one or two are useful for you.

In the redesign of the blog (soon!) these will be better organized, but for now, here are the ones I’ve compiled in the last year or so. They’re all free, and hopefully helpful. Let me know what you think.

Getting a Foothold in Social Media

A rundown of some of the basic, fundamental elements of building a social media plan, especially directed at smaller and medium-sized businesses, but certainly consistent for companies of any size. Click here to download the PDF.

The Social Media Starter Kit

Here, we cover some of the most popular social media tools and technologies, including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and blogging, as well as some productivity and supporting tools to make social media task management easier and more fluid. Click here to download the PDF.

Building a Social Media Team

If you’re considering deploying a team to tackle your social media efforts, have a look here. We’ll discuss why you might need a team, how to assemble one, roles and responsibilities, and more. The ebook includes a look inside Humana’s social media “Chamber Of Commerce” and how their interdisciplinary team is driving social media efforts at their company. Click here to download the PDF.

Social Media Time Management

If you’re struggling with information overload and how to sort your priorities in social media, this ebook will give you some practical, actionable ideas for managing the firehose. Includes some thoughts on resource allocation and time commitments for social media strategies inside a business, as well as 9 strategies for keeping the social media monster manageable. Click here to download the PDF.

So last week, we hammered out the Social Media Starter Kit series, reviewing some of the basic tools of social media and a few tips on using them. This week, I want to focus more on the “what, why and how” of social media and tackle some of the questions you’ve asked of me.

This is only effective if you’re telling me what I can help answer or at least give you my take on, so please do me a big favor and leave your questions in the comments, or email them to me at amber@altitudebranding.com. I’ll answer as many as I can this week, and then put them all in a tidy little PDF at the end of the week for you to download (and maybe share with your boss??)

So let’s get started.

What exactly is social media?

Ask ten people this question and you’re likely to get ten different answers, ranging from the very technical to the very philosophical. But for my part, I say social media is a broad collection of communication tools and practices – largely online – that foster the individual creation and sharing of content, and encourage the dialogue around that content at a human level.

No, that’s not all encompassing. Why? Because social media is very much defined by each person who engages in it, and that definition will be different if you’re a business or an individual. I’d also say that you need to loosen up your definition of “media” in this sense, and not be thinking newspapers or magazines or TV, but the purest definition of media that includes all potential methods of delivering information.

Instead of a rigid definition, I’d instead venture to say that true social communication shares a few characteristics:

• It’s delivered in a human voice, instead of a corporate or “messaged” one
• It invites feedback, dialogue, and discussion, whether positive or critical
• It asks creators to be abundantly forthright about who they are and whose viewpoint they represent (if not their own)
• It’s participatory and interactive
• Its goal is to build relationships and contribute to a larger whole, not push messages or an agenda

The most typical examples of social tools include social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, publishing platforms like blogs, YouTube and podcasts, and practices like user-generated content, audience voting and rating, and crowdsourcing.

So that’s my overview. What would you add?

Why should I care about this?

This is probably an entire post in itself, but I’ll try to be brief.

Social media have opened up the floodgates of communication around the web. They’ve put far-reaching and impactful communication in the hands of each and every person with an internet connection and something to say.

As an individual, you should care because social media helps you connect, converse, and contribute to the world around you in ways that you could never have imagined. The tools are largely inexpensive, easy to use, and give you your own stage, microphone, and millions of niches to tuck into that can help you find like-minded communities and friends.

As a business, these myriad conversations mean that more than likely, your industry or even your brand are being discussed. You have an opportunity to be an active and trusted participant in that dialogue, provided you contribute from *within* that community (instead of from some holy corporate tower somewhere). As a business, you can stand out immensely by offering your customers a voice in your business, and communicating openly back to them as humans, not logos. Being a company that people want to interact with is undeniably good for business.

You have phones on your desk and email on your computer to allow people to communicate with you. Social media are simply new mechanisms for the communication we’ve always done. But their visibility and ubiquity force us to do it better.

The truth is that social media still has uncharted waters. But it’s not going away. It’s evolving the global communication landscape for individuals and businesses alike, and you can choose to make things happen as a result of it, or have things happen *to* you because of it.

There are plenty of questions worthy of discussion: the risks of open dialogue, the question of scaling human interactions, what really constitutes the “ROI” of all this (a topic I’ll tackle later this week. Again.). But if these numbers (or this resource) are any indication, it’s a true groundswell that you can’t afford to ignore.

Your Turn

So that’s a start. A couple of questions I’m asked often. I’ve got a bunch more that I’ve heard from you so far, and I’m looking for more. There’s no question too simple, and no points for being overly philosophical. I’m here to help, so let’s tackle some of the things that are bugging you. I can’t promise to have all the perfect answers, but that’s the whole point. There’s a community here full of knowledge. Let’s tap it.

Photo credit: Jan Tik

Blogging is such a ubiquitous form of media today, but people are still incredibly intimidated about getting started with one. Is blogging something you should do? That answer will vary for everyone. Do you have something to say? Do you want to share thoughts, interests, ideas? Are you interested in others weighing in on what you have to say?

My getting started philosophy: learn on the job. There’s no better way to learn about blogging than to immerse yourself in it.

Read and Participate

The very best way to learn about blogging is to read. Read lots of blogs, both inside and outside your interest area. Pay special attention to things like tone, writing style, and how writers break up the content. Again, there’s no “right” way to blog, but you’ll get a feel for what resonates with you.

RSS Reader

I use Google Reader to aggregate my blogs. If you’re not familar with RSS, Common Craft has this kick butt video that explains it. But in essence, it’s the easy way to get a blog’s content delivered automatically right to you. It’s easy and tidy.

Start small; select 6 or 10 blogs that interest you, and visit them often. Check out the blogrolls of the blogs you’re reading to find other blogs that might be relevant. You can also use things like Technorati, but I prefer the more organic approach. It’s like having a friend recommend a book instead of picking one off the shelf.

All in all, spend 30 minutes a day browsing your feeds. You don’t have to read everything in depth. Scan the titles and posts, and stop by for the ones that interest you or compel you to comment. And don’t fear the “mark all as read” button. There are only so many hours in the day.

Comment

Don’t be shy about commenting on blogs. Share your voice; the authors *want* to hear from you – it’s part of their validation that they’re writing something of interest. It’s okay to not have all the answers. It’s about furthering the discussion, not necessarily coming to a profound conclusion.

A great tool I use is Backtype. You sign up with the URL you plug in when you comment on a blog, and it aggregates all of your comments for you.  Add friends from your other networks to read their comments and see what blogs they’re visiting. I’ve found amazing hidden gems this way.

Writing

If you’re a writer by nature, blogging will come more easily to you than if not. But a good starter goal is to aim for three posts a week. They don’t have to be mammoth, and at first, just worry about getting comfortable with the medium. It’s just a blog.

Talk about what you know. And don’t go into this with the idea that you’re writing for traffic. Write for yourself, and to share something valuable with others. Passion and interest makes for better writing, and like building a network anywhere else, it will happen on its own if you’re dedicated to it.

Topics

Keep a little text document or even a notebook around to scribble down post ideas when you have them. Write it all down, and edit later. And get in the habit of starting post drafts and saving them unfinished. You can always come back to them later when inspiration strikes. If you get a burst of writing done, schedule your posts in advance using your blog software and have a backstore of great stuff at the ready.

Share. Ask questions. Get people talking. You’re a conversation catalyst. The means. Not necessarily the end.

Comments

Staying plugged into the comments on your blog is important. Commenters like to know that you’re listening and paying attention to their contributions. How often and how deeply you respond is up to you (here’s a bit about my take), but comments are an important part of the blog ecosystem, so find a way to engage in the comments on your own posts that feels comfortable for you.

Inevitably, someone’s going to leave a snarky comment someday. That’s okay – no one can be all things to all people.  Learn to deal with detractors as best you can. The more people read you, the more of them you’ll find.

Credit and Sharing

Link out to the posts that may have inspired your writing. Point your readers to resources relevant to your topic. Disclose relationships you have that may have bearing on the opinions you write about (most especially if you’re being paid to do so).

If you’re including other people’s work, make sure to attribute it. For instance, I use photos from Flickr’s Creative Commons for my posts, and credit them with a link at the bottom.

Just Do It.

Nike said it best, but really. It’s a blog, not an earthshattering, irreversible endeavor. Wade in, get your feet wet. Test, try stuff, find your niche and comfort zone. Ask your favorite bloggers for a tip or two. Read, read, read. Then read some more.

Then, go write.

Other questions about blogging? Let us know in the comments and let the community lend a hand.

This is a post from the Social Media Starter Kit Series. To see all the posts from the series, click here, or click here to download the PDF e-book version. Like this what you’ve read? Consider subscribing to the feed and never miss a post.