Social media is an important element in a business’s communication strategy. Marketing on social media not only costs less than other channels, but also provides access to a large number of people. Facebook has around 400 million users, while Twitter has around 75 million and LinkedIn is catching up with over 65 million users. That means social media puts your in direct contact with millions of prospects. Just imagine your new yacht listing being visible to over 400 million people! The kind of exposure offered by social media is incomparable to any other medium. So, now that you are all set to market on social media, here are a few tips that you could use.

1. Add value to your contacts: The purpose of your presence on social is to add value to your contacts. By adding value to your contacts, you can build a strong relationship with them. For example, you know someone in your contacts is planning on investing in a good weekender yacht. You could provide them with tips on what they need to look for when investing in one.

2. Be consistent in your online participation: Once you are into social media, be consistent. Spend a few hours online every day responding to comments/questions you receive. Your contacts on the social networking site should see you as someone who’s genuinely interested in interacting and building a relationship. For example, post at least one interesting article on yachting every week. Upload pictures of new yachts, write a short description and share those with all.

3. Show your expertise: Join forums that are related to the area of your expertise. Provide advice where you can and participate actively. If someone’s asking for good yachting destinations, go ahead and make suggestions. For example, if somebody’s looking for a cruising yacht, tell them you can help.

4. Know your matter: While it’s good to speak about your area of expertise, make sure you present accurate information. If you err or provide wrong information, it would reflect poorly on your company brand as well.

5. Be yourself: Don’t lose your individuality on the web. Social networking is all about creating a real relationship with others and this happens only when you are yourself. Don’t adopt a rehearsed, scripted approach to social media communication. The aim is to build your company brand by forging relationships at personal levels.

6. Monitor: While social media is great because it enhances your visibility, there’s always the risk of a poor comment about you or your brand doing rounds real fast. So, monitor and moderate your social networking pages to know what people are saying about you.

7. Content Syndication: Content creation takes a quite some time and effort. Use it to the maximum by using the content you create for one social media site in another. Make subtle changes to the format and use it to make an impact at different places online. For example, if you have an article that talks about recognizing and reducing noises and vibrations in boating, you can shorten it for a blog post, put some key points into the PowerPoint format and upload on slideshare.

Marketing on Social Media puts you in direct contact with your prospect and offers you the unique advantage of having a two way interaction—something that marketing through other media doesn’t. If used effectively, it can be as much fun as yachting…well almost!