Research shows that many companies don’t have a strategy to use social media. Many more do even worse and just ignore Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Google+ updated its service, and since November companies can create special profiles on the social network. It is an improvement that Twitter and Facebook, some of Google’s competitors in the social media realm, also had done. All of them are looking forward to achieving the same goal: stimulating more companies to invest in social media, making their business every day more profitable. Despite the investments from Google, Facebook, and Twitter, many experts agree that companies worldwide aren’t using social media wisely yet.

According to a study conducted by the communication agency MWbed, the worst mistake committed by companies is just ignoring all social media possibilities. Only 36.4% of the biggest companies analyzed in 25 different fields have a profile on one social media platform. The research also shows that just having a profile doesn’t means anything, as many companies have but simply don’t use them.  Only 46.6% of companies which have profiles on Twitter posted every day on it, and 8.8% posted tweets just once a week. That means almost half of the companies on Twitter – 45.3% - didn’t post anything during June, the month in which the study was done.

Companies aren’t developing a social media strategy, and that means potentially losing out on a lot of money. Another study, this one realized by the Altimer Group and published in Business Week, analyzed 100 companies during a 2010. Those which invested on social media increased their profit 18% by the end of the year. Companies without a social media strategy had 6% less revenue.

To help corporations improve their social media strategy, we collected three experts’ tips. Following these tips can be the first step to achieving good results through social media.

 1 – Plan a social media strategy carefully

It’s very simple to create a social media profile – even a 7-year-old child can do that. But you cannot just type facebook.com and create a profile – first you need to think about what kind of social media platform is best for your company’s business. Twitter, Facebook and Google+ can may look the same to you, but they have very different users and tools. So your first task is to understand how each social media tool works, by planning a good strategy before creating a profile. 

2 – Make it professional

If you want a profile just to have some fun you should create a personal one. A company’s profile must be professional. Now you have a plan. Be sure that your staff will follow it and, of course, post only subjects that will attract your clients on the company’s profile.  

3 – Interact with your followers / friends

“Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life”, says the company’s slogan, meaning that a social media profile must be… social. What is the point in having a profile on each social media if you don’t interact with people on any of them? Share information, tweet interesting subjects and start a conversation. Answer any comments people make about your company, even when they are complaining about some service you did. A social media profile it’s a place to talk with your clients, and this means you must hear them, too.