The document provides ten tips for successfully starting on social media, emphasizing the importance of genuine engagement and reciprocity. Key suggestions include using a real name, sharing content, responding to messages, and focusing on building meaningful connections rather than just personal promotion. It encourages users to adopt a mindset of helping others and patience as they establish their online presence.

1. Top Ten Tips for Getting
Started on Social Media
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Start with a rock solid philosophy. Reciprocate. If someone follows you on
Determine to listen, seek to understand, Twitter, the decent thing to do is to follow
and contribute to your neighbor’s quest back. In essence, they’re saying, “Hey,
for significance. I’m interested in you and want to know
2
more.” When you don’t follow back, you’re
Start. Jump in and get started saying, “Hey, you should be interested in
somewhere. There is no right way and me because, after all, it really is all about
there are no judges. It’s free. It’s safe. me. I matter; you don’t. You should listen
It’s a great way to learn. Don’t just sit to me; I’m not going to listen to you.”
there—do something. Politicians and celebrities are bad about
3
this. Please don’t be like them.
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Focus on a couple things first. Build
your homebase (Facebook, blog, Share. Social media makes it easy for you
LinkedIn) and your active outreach tool to share—share your contacts, your ideas,
(Twitter). Later you can add more. and your discoveries freely with others.
4
Think of them as seeds to be sown into
Use your real name. Social media is as fertile soil.
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much about the social as it is about the
media. It’s for making connections with Respond. If a real person takes the time
people. Part of the process is making to send you a personal message, endeavor
yourself visible to the people who would to respond. You’d be amazed at the power
like to find you—those with whom of two little words as a response—“thank
you’ve shared a common experience like you.” Saying “thank you” through Twitter
high school, college, civic or political and Facebook doesn’t take that long at all;
involvement, church, academic and but it definitely goes a long way.
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professional organizations. Your name is
the search “keyword” your acquaintances Build others up. Aid your neighbor’s
will use to find and connect with you. quest for significance by searching for
Make it easy for them to do so by using and promoting praiseworthy things about
your own name. them. Promote their blogs; promote them.
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Post a profile picture (of your face). In Be patient. Yes, American society is
social media lingo, this is your avatar— driven to answer the questions “what’s
your visual identity as a human being. in it for me?” and “what’s my ROI?” Such
We’re drawn to faces. Logos and graphics questions may make you sound smart in
make us wonder what you’re hiding or if grad school but they won’t give you the
you’re a real person. foundation or mindset you’ll need to build
meaningful connections with other people.
If you’ll start with “who can I help?” and
“what can I give away?” you’ll enjoy your
social media investment much more.
For more information or to schedule keynote or workshop presentations on how to use technology to build
meaningful connections, visit www.treypennington.com or write to trey@treypennington.com. For a complete
listing the social media profiles I’m using, please check out www.treypennington.me. © 2009 Trey Pennington