Even though social media may be a relatively recent phenomenon, its not going anywhere.

Nowadays, individuals as well as businesses are tweeting, blogging, and facebook-ing like theres no tomorrow.

For some of them, social media has a defined place in their business, theyve successfully mastered it, and will have others following in their footsteps. For the rest, its a new arena that theyre not yet comfortable in.

Its clear that social media can be a hugely effective technique participation should certainly be encouraged. It is important, though, that on a professional level, you have the right skills and experience to manage your presence.

Here are a few hints to make your trip into the world of social media a little easier. To make it simple, here are the things you should avoid!

Firstly, its important that social media is planned. Dont attempt it with an ad lib lets have a go approach. After all, if you are the voice for an organisation, you have a reputation to manage and represent.

Social media is a mixture of sales, customer service, PR and marketing knowledge or experience in these areas is therefore advantageous.

Secondly, both time and commitment are necessary with social media. You cant just have a go, and give up when you feel like it. People will notice!

There is no hurry so take your time, and start slow. Think about your other commitments, in relation to your overall workload over a specific amount of time.

Decide which platforms work best for your business and which will allow you to communicate with your target market. You dont need to be present on every single platform.

Dont aim too high, have direction, and dont lose sight of your end goal.

Thirdly, pay attention to what you say! With just one click, your comments (representing the whole company) are out there on the WWW, shared with the everyone. Be sure to think before you publish.

In addition, be sure to evaluate which techniques are working for your business.

Social media opens doors, and allows you to reach not only potential customers, but also connect with existing customers in a new way. But dont expect instant results overnight. You need time, and to understand the limitations.

However social media certainly has huge potential in terms of real results as part of your overall communications strategy.