There’s no question that social media has reshaped the way we do business online. I’ve posted a couple of times about using Facebook with clients; however, the real power of social media lies within Twitter.

Used correctly, Twitter can become an integral part of your projects from client screening to web site integration to ongoing client education and interaction. In this post I will step through some ideas on integrating Twitter with your projects and clients before, during and after the project process.

Read the rest at TwiTip!

The Facebook fan page is a public profile for businesses, non-profits, celebrities and causes of all kinds. It’s a killer concept that has helped bring a new layer of communication to the platform.

The goal is to attract “fans” to your page so that you can amass a virtual following of sorts. This enables you to keep a close level of connection with people interested in your cause, and to see what those people are like. It’s great for connecting with clients, prospects, partners, users and other parties who might interact with your brand.

As a regular Facebook user, I’ve noticed four primary reasons why people become fans. I’ve highlighted some ways you might be able to take advantage of those reasons if you’re thinking about building a fan page.

The best part about being a web designer is that I get to keep up with all of the new online tools. It also means I can check Facebook during the day without feeling guilty (right?).

Facebook is a powerful tool. No other tool in the history of human social behavior has been able to give people the mass level of connectedness that Facebook has. You can locate pretty much anyone on the network these days. Hell, both my mom and dad are on Facebook.

You can also find clients on Facebook.

Many people, especially those who lead a nightlife of questionable character, might find this concerning. Facebook is a tool for connecting with friends, not clients, right?

The web has really allowed people to individualize themselves. With the onslaught of social networking tools, we can create pretty strong identities. The big problem, of course, is brand control.

When someone types your name into Google, what do they find? Unfortunately, if your name is John Smith or Jane Doe, you’re pretty much out of luck. But if your name is a little less common, do you appear in the search results? Do you dominate the results?

If not, you could run into a branding problem. Branding is something you want to control. When someone searches for you, you need to come up first — and you need to come up in a result that you control.

More and more, I’m realizing that the power in Facebook for companies is not in finding new clients, but keeping existing ones. Often, I’m presented with the dilemma of how to use Facebook to get new clients. There just aren’t many avenues in Facebook to do it.

The reason is because Facebook is a closed social network. Both you and the other party must agree to be "friends" in order to exist in the same social network.

Recently, I was talking with a client about social media strategy. The gist of the conversation was how to generate more traffic through channels such as Facebook and Twitter. Surely these must be viable channels since everyone is talking about them?

Wrong.

Too many people view social media as an end-all solution for pushing their web presence to the next level. They think if they establish a Facebook account or sign up for Twitter then they’re good to go. People will find my organization, become a fan and follow everything I say — right?

The disconnect with social media is that it’s very audience-driven. Specific people use specific channels for specific reasons. That isn’t hard to figure out. What is hard to figure out is what your audience uses. Is your target market comprised of the old or young, tech savvy or computer illiterate, decision-makers or underlings, and so forth.

Knowing who your audience is and what they read is essential to crafting a social media strategy. When talking with my client, she suddenly realized that their audience probably doesn’t use Facebook. Ok. Then what kind of content do they consume?

We came to the conclusion that her audience was resource-driven. They want to read, research and learn about the industry. What are some of the best vehicles to get this content out? We talked about blogs, press releases and video.

Social media isn’t all about the tools. And Facebook, Twitter and blogs are just that: tools. The real challenge is picking the right tool for the job and using it correctly.