Once you are prepared for your social media launch, you are ready for the next step of creating the actual social media site. Many people think this is the fun part since it’s when your ideas turn into designs, graphics, content and web pages on the social media site.

The first step is to decide which sites you are going to use. The most popular sites are Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn.  Even though these are the top sites, you don’t need to use all of these, and you can add others if you feel that there is a site that’s more appropriate in your industry. Often we see B2C firms skip using LinkedIn, and B2B firms skip using Facebook. I believe that both of these sites can be used for any industry, but if you have limited resources, this is a good guideline.

With each of these sites you’ll need to register and secure a page with the name of your company.  If your preferred name is already taken, then choose something close that is short, make sense and is easy for your readers to remember.

Most of the channels allow you to create custom design and graphics to improve your branding on other otherwise bland pages.  You should definitely take advantage of this option by creating a strong design that engages the user.

Each of the social media sites needs to be thought of as a unique “micro site” with special design and content needs.

Twitter and YouTube both offer the opportunity to create a custom design background to reinforce your brand and give the user additional information about you.  Facebook lets you create banners and other graphics that tell your story.  LinkedIn let’s you create custom product pages that give more detail on your company, products and services.  In all of these sites, make sure you provide the user with all of the information you can. Writing the content for these sites is a little like writing a small website, so plan time to create the content you need.

If you’d like to read my white paper on Social Media Success in 14 Steps, please click here.