Are you new on the Web, and still feel like that awkward teenager…wanting to be socially acceptable…but not sure how?

If you’re an Internet entrepreneur, and just getting started, this can be a real challenge.  You know you should have a social media presence to get your business name  spread around, but you just don’t know how to go about it.  Both personally and in business, we want others to like us.   We tend to behave in ways that we believe are most socially acceptable to the people or groups we want to be accepted by.  In business, we understand how important that is…it puts food on the table and clothes on our backs. 

You’re passionate about your product, and you’ve just put up a website.   Now, you want to take advantage of some free advertisement through social media.  What can you say on social media…facebook, twitter and the myriad of other sites…that will attract visitors…especially buyers…to your site?   How do you present your ‘best face’ in 140 characters or less?

Well you can relax a little…the rules may be modified for the new social media, but they really haven’t changed.  People who are searching for a good business relationship, on-line, or in a brick and mortar store, are still looking for the same basic things:

• Relationship…can we communicate in a way that makes both of us richer in some way?
• Honesty…can we trust the relationship?  Be your authentic self…regardless of the environment, because pretending to be something you’re not will always show through in the end. 
• Consistency…will you treat me the way I want to be treated every time we do business?

When you’re trying to get a business off the ground through communication, especially social media, who you are is what you say…succinctly.  People searching for information on line are usually looking for a quick solution to a problem they wish to solve.  If you have a solution for losing weight, for example, and you can convey it well in 140 characters or less on Twitter, you are highly likely to be able to draw attention to your website.  For example, if you were to tweet “Left Behind…60 pounds in 6 weeks” followed by a website address, you would undoubtedly draw visitors.  However, if those visitors found a website that either did not convey weight loss information, or did not convey that information honestly, your communication would fail.

I’m not saying that dishonest communication doesn’t occur on the Internet.  It does…and a small percentage of it is very successful…in the short term.  If you want to have a long-term business relationship, however, the same tenants for success that have always worked will still work…

1. Care about your customer.
2. Focus on your customer’s needs.
3. Always do the best you can for them.

What’s different in the new social communications world, is that you must rely on a few words to make a strong connection with your audience.  To be well-received socially on Twitter, for example, you’ll need to know what your customers…or potential customers…care about so that you can sing the right tune.  Focus your very short message on their needs…something that can show them where and how they can meet that need.   With only 140 characters, your message needs to be powerful…and short. 

For a long-lasting relationship, and to build new relationships, your message will need to be repeated in multiple ways multiple times.  At the same time, the message needs to remain fresh and relevant. 

Learn the art of new social media communication.  It can be fun and creative.  It will hone your skills as a communicator and increase your ability to develop relationships with a larger and more diverse group of people.  Just remember…to be well received in the new social environment as well as the old, it’s still all about building relationship…in a brave new world of ever-evolving communication styles.