I enjoyed Matt Bunker’s presentation on ‘online networking’ at orientation. He kicked off the presentation by showing a video by Socialnomics:

Amazing how some great music (first Video Game, ‘Baba Yetu’) and some big numbers can move people to action.

Social media is big – omnipresent, as show by Socialnomics. It’s real to me, as I spent the last 3 years building and defining the channel-focused social media strategy for Symantec. I’d like to clarify and add a couple of points to Matt’s presentation.

1. Go where your audience is.
Choose the social media vehicles that are relevant to your audience. This doesn’t mean you open an account on every social media site out there. Target the vehicles that are applicable to your industry and position.

2. It’s better to be relevant on a few sites than irrelevant on many.
Add value to your network. This builds on the previous point of being selective in the sites you choose. If you join a network, contribute to the community. From a marketing perspective, user-generated content is golden because it’s relevant and useful. You reap what you sow.

3. Don’t write anything you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the WSJ.
Don’t say anything dumb. If it’s online, it could be available to anyone. Assume anything you share could be made public at some time.

4. Be Social
It’s been said that Twitter is a mixer and Facebook is a barbecue. You attend these real life events to meet and hang out with people. It’s the same online. When you join a network, contribute.

Perhaps most importantly, be strategic about how you engage in social media. The adage”tis better to try and fail than never to try at all’ applies only if you keep trying. It’s painfully obvious when someone had abandoned their social media presence. Be dedicated. Be calculated. Don’t stop.

Matt Bunker is the Manager of Alumni Networks for the Marriott School of Management.