Here we go! You (or your company) have decided to start using social media, but you’re not really sure where to begin. Here are a few tips from Chris Brogan to help integrate social media into your business the right way.

I’ll just cover a few highlights here—check out the full post: 50 Steps to Establishing a Consistent Social Media Practice. Before you even start, ask yourself a few key questions: Why are we using social media? How do we plan to use it? What are the goals? Are we willing to invest the time and effort? Is the company ready for open dialogue and criticism?

Once that’s clear, get familiar with a few core ideas and tips:

If you’re blogging, make that a home base for all your other efforts.

Don’t scatter your content all over the web. People—customers, employees, potential clients—need a central place to find the essentials. Make that your blog. It’s your home base for everything social media.

(…) think about your blog promotion efforts.

Having a blog is great, but you need to promote it. Boost its visibility by signing up for key platforms:

  • Twitter.com is a must if you have a social media audience. It also connects you to other practitioners.
  • Facebook and/or MySpace are useful social networks where you can build outposts (see next list).
  • Get a Flickr account for photo sharing.
  • Get a YouTube account for video uploading.
  • Get a StumbleUpon.com account for voting.
  • Get a Digg.com account for voting, as well.
  • Get an Upcoming.org account to promote events.
  • Get a del.icio.us account for social bookmarking.
  • Get a Wordpress.com account for its OpenID benefits.
  • Get a LinkedIn account for your professional network.
  • Take a second look at Plaxo. It’s changed for the better.
  • Get a Gmail.com account for use with reader, calendar, docs, and more.

And in the same vein:

Pick 3 social networks to join based on where your customers might be. 3 might sound like too few, but it probably will be too many.

Choosing the right networks is key. Think about who you’re trying to reach. Going after Brazilian or Indian users? Check out Orkut. American teens? MySpace or Facebook are more your thing. Targeting professionals? LinkedIn might be your best bet. Keep an eye on social network trends so you can make smart, relevant choices—not just for networks, but also for video sharing, bookmarking, etc.

On those networks and on your “passport” accounts, make sure you link everything back to the blog.

As mentioned before: always point people back to your blog. That’s your content hub.

Build an editorial calendar to think about your posting schedule and subject matter.

This one’s big. A corporate blog is not a personal journal. If your company blog isn’t updated regularly, it’s useless. An editorial calendar helps keep content flowing—who’s writing what, when, and why.

Subscribe to 50 or more blogs in a similar space as yours, including competitors, and any industry blogs.

After you’ve written your first blog post, take some time to comment on some of those 50 blogs, but NOT about your first post.

You don’t blog in a vacuum. If you want readers, read other people’s blogs and join the conversation. Leave comments, show you’re paying attention—it often brings people back to your own blog.

Riff off other blog posts you like, and add some value beyond linking back to those original posts (and always link back to those posts).

To create consistent content, read daily, and not just for your industry. Skim, synthesize, and post.

Add value! Don’t just repost something without your own take. The best content comes from reading broadly, making sense of it, and sharing your spin. And always credit your sources—it’s respectful, and it helps your readers dig deeper.

Make sure it’s easy for people to subscribe to your blog, via a reader and also via email.

Consider a nice clean theme for your blog’s design.

User experience matters. Keep your blog clean and easy to navigate. Think light, simple design. Make it easy to subscribe—whether it’s via RSS or email—because that’s how people follow you long-term.

Outside of your blog, be sure to update/refresh the information on your social networks every two or three weeks. USE the networks more often, but refresh your profiles and other info.

Yep—back to updates! Even if your blog is the main focus, don’t let your other accounts go stale. Keep bios and info fresh. Post news. Keep your digital identity alive.

Continue building relationships outside of having a specific need. Don’t ONLY try to build relationships with customers, for example.

Be real. Don’t just show up when you’re trying to sell something. Build genuine relationships—with bloggers, readers, customers—on and off the clock.

Ask your audience what they need, what they’re struggling with.

Check your stats to see what people are searching for, and address it.

Get to know your audience. Ask them directly or check your analytics—what are they looking for? What do they care about? That’s the content you should be offering.

Add social bookmarking plugins like Add This to your blog to improve distribution.

Look for cross-promotional opportunities for like-minded blogs in your space.

Don’t lock down your content. Let it travel. Add share buttons, think syndication, widgets, RSS feeds. The more flexible your content, the more it’ll get picked up and seen.

  • Create a simple report on how you will report what you’re doing for upper management.
  • Work out which numbers might matter. Comments received. Links in. Times bookmarked?
  • Rank each blog post on effectiveness based on your own criteria. Review weekly and monthly.
  • Figure out a “downstream” metric that drives real business value. Reduce costs to call center? Sales leads?
  • Never count # of friends or # of followers as a valuable metric. It’s quality in that case.
  • As soon as you can, find ways to tie your numbers to marketing and sales numbers where appropriate.

Measurement matters. Decide from the start how you’ll track your progress. Pick metrics that align with your goals and check in regularly. Adjust when things drift.

(…) NEVER treat people like numbers in social media.

And finally, just be human. Don’t mess with the trust people place in your brand. Be transparent. Be open. Be honest.

I only covered a few of Chris Brogan’s tips here. Go check out the rest in 50 Steps to Establishing a Consistent Social Media Practice and 100 Personal Branding Tactics Using Social Media.