When it comes to starting social media activity in a business, there is often a temptation to immediately “join the conversation” and “get engaged” with customers. Everybody else is doing it after all, and tools such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook are all free to use. So what could the harm possibly be in starting a blog, to tweet or to set up a Facebook page, while you get on with the real issues of managing your business? Well, therein lays the crux of the matter.

Conventional advice for getting started in social media goes along the lines of listening to what customers and audiences are saying, both about you and your markets, and then entering into an open dialogue with them in an attempt to gain awareness and influence, and generate further business. But this can lead to a reactive outbound approach, and social media in business is so much more than trying to convert your direct marketing and PR onto social tools and channels. The opportunities are there, but if you’re not careful social audiences will tire of a superficial sales and marketing led relationship and attempts at conversation, and conversion, could quickly become meaningless.

So the key to a successful social business strategy lies not in the “just do it” approach, but in developing something that is going to make a difference. This requires an objectives-based strategy that integrates into what you are trying to achieve and any business-oriented Social Media activity should be built around producing results that help you grow and succeed. If you’re not prepared to put proper intent into it, then you may have nothing much more on your hands than a clever campaign. Without a rational business method it could ultimately all be futile and end up diverting and costing valuable resources without getting the return you need. Businesses that support their social media efforts with understanding, vision and an underlying philosophy will give themselves a clear advantage.

So how does this translate into building a business that benefit from social media? Take a look at yourself. Successful business managers do it on a regular basis to see how they can improve things. For themselves, for their people and for their business. Then imagine a social media blanket across the whole lot. In reality this may seem impractical at first, but we need to recognise that this is what’s happening in business today. If you don’t, it’s likely your staff, partners, suppliers, customers and markets are already doing so, whether you like it or not. From staff using Facebook, to customers moaning on Twitter and bloggers blogging about you, a structured, proactive and inclusive approach across the board will reap significant rewards down the line.

This doesn’t mean trying to deal with everything social media throws at you all at once. But it does require putting in place the business understanding, objectives, structures and people to deal with and use it effectively. So learn what it can do for you, your employees and your business. Give your organisation, and especially your people, the knowledge, tools, channels, and, importantly, the permission to act. Establish what works and what doesn’t. Equate everything to your business goals. And by avoiding the temptation to rush in you will put yourself in a better position to successfully build ‘social’ into your business.

For any business today it’s not enough just to ‘do social’, you have to learn how to ‘be social’.