Here are some dos and don’ts from accomplished users of social media:

‘It just takes too much time and doesn’t add to sales’
Wrong attitude. You can’t afford not to. An online presence is like a phone number: Your customers expect it and are looking for you online.
Listen to your customers
Listen to what your customers are saying about your business through social media. Answer them individually if you can. Word of mouth, good and bad, can have a powerful effect on sales. If it’s bad, ask your customers how you can do better.

Be nimble
In California, a group of hip food vendor trucks tweet their location each day so office workers can pop in.
In New York, a brutal snowstorm last February meant the hit show “Mamma Mia” would be empty on Broadway. The theatre tweeted discount tickets for the brave Manhattanites who could walk through the snow, and the house filled.

Watch your competitors
You can get great ideas by watching how others in your industry are using social media.

A ‘tap on the shoulder’
Comedian Hal Sparks, who uses social media to listen to his fans and promote his appearances, suggests thinking of a tweet as “a tap on the shoulder.”

More than self-promotion
Customers respond to well-timed discounts and coupons, but free advice and interesting links also get attention.

Cultivate a consistent online persona
Social media is a great place to be authentic and let your customers know who you are and tell your story.
Astringent, corporate sounding prose won’t get you very far. People who respond to social media move fast, are bright and want clever and succinct.

Take it seriously
Designate who in the business will be the online voice and keep it consistent. Some small business owners designate a junior, tech-savvy employee. While that can sometimes work, don’t just designate and forget it.
That can be a problem because do you really want your intern getting your brand message out there and being sort of the arbiter of who you are in the wider commercial world?