Most companies think that new marketing programs cost a fortune to implement. With the advent of social media tools you can get your business reaching new heights for very little investment. It's simple to get started, just remember that social media is about conversation. To get you up and running quickly, here are 10 Steps to Success with Social Media:

Step 1 - Listen first and then participate.  

There are a number of social media channels where people are having conversations.  To start, use one or more of the social tools listed below to search for a topic that interests you.  Listen to the dialogue.  If you feel you have something to add to the conversation, then contribute using a conversational tone when you comment.

Here are just a few social media tools where you can start listening to the conversation:

• Twitter^TM
• Friendfeed^TM
• Technorati^TM
• Tweetscan^TM
• Buzzlogic^TM
• Google® Alerts
• Techrigy^TM

Step 2 - Contribute to the conversation - Start a Blog.   

Blogging is a great way to start a dialog with others who share your interests and or concerns.  It can also help position you as a thought leader in your industry and local community. Here are a few tips on creating a blog.

• Identify the goal of your blog and the voice of the author. Does your blog take the position of CEO, customer support, thought leadership, etc?
• Connect with other bloggers who complement your business. Link content and promote each other's stories - read & comment on other people's blogs.
• Be patient, building an audience takes time.
• Make it easy to share your posts. Allow readers to send links by email or submit a link to sharing services.
• Offer a variety of ways to be notified of updates to your blog. Examples include RSS and email.
• Be interesting & unique in each post, you want people to join your conversation.
• Use FeedBurner^TM & Google© Analytics^TM to track where your traffic comes from. Then collaborate with the traffic sources & build partnerships.

Step 3 - Build authority. 

Authority, as it relates to your blog, indicates the number of unique blogs that are linking to your blog.  The more relevant links you have the more authority you have in the blogosphere, which helps position you as a thought leader on the subject of your blog.  You can help to increase your blog's authority by doing the following, and be sure to always include a link back to your blog:

• Contribute to relevant forums and community boards
• Participate in online chats
• Answer related industry questions on LinkedIn^TM and Yahoo® Answers^TM

Step 4 - Leverage FaceBook^TM. 

FaceBook is a free personal social networking site where users can set up a profile and network with individuals or groups organized by city, region, workplace or school.  Users can also add friends to their networks, join groups, and become fans of products, services, companies, or just about anything. Create an updated professional profile as well as page for your business and

• Avoid risky content
• Connect with as many business people as you can using your professional profile
• Join groups related to your niche, participate & befriend people with similar interests
• Add links to your profile
• Post on the network
• Post to other people's walls
• Avoid overselling, use FaceBook for conversation and awareness

Step 5 - Leverage LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is considered a business social networking site where users can set up a free profile, join groups that are organized similar to Facebook.  Many who use LinkedIn list their work or business experience and tend not to use it as a site to post personal updates or photos.  Get involved:

• Create an updated professional profile
• Import your address book to start building your network
• Answer questions to build reputation and authority
• Join groups & participate in them

Step 6 - Use press releases effectively. 

If you have recently launched a new product, signed a new client, or have a special promotion going on, now your company news can be broadcast on the Internet.  By drafting a press release announcing your news you can post it on the following free press release distribution services.  This can help provide links back to your Website or blog and helps you with search engine optimization. Your story can now be headline news take advantage of free press release services including:

• PR.com
• PRLog.com
• I-newswire.com
• Prleap.com
• 24-7pressrelease.com

Step 7 - Submit to social news aggregators. 

News aggregators can help promote your content; however, you are dependent on the power of the other users. Social news aggregators allow users to vote news stories with thumbs up or thumbs down.  If you write an article, which includes a link to your site or blog, that is voted up or is considered popular, you can receive massive amounts of traffic. The top three social news aggregators are:

• Digg.com
• Mashable.com
• Mixxx.com

You can submit your story to multiple social news aggregators at the same time using sites like

• AddThis.com
• SocialPoster.com
• SocialMarker.com

Step 8 - Engage multimedia tools. 

Consider adding different mediums to your communication efforts like photos, video or podcasts (audio files) to communicate your thoughts and ideas.  There are tons of multimedia tools out there for photos, audio and video. Find a few examples below, but there are hundreds of tools out there for sharing multimedia.

For photo sharing try:

• Flickr^TM
• PhotoBucket^TM

For video sharing try:

• Jumpcut^TM
• YouTube^TM
• Blip.TV
• Viddler^TM
• Tubemogul^TM
• Seesmic^TM

Step 9 - Share documents that other people can use.

There are many Websites available where you can post your presentations or other documents. By sharing industry knowledge, it builds credibility and promotes company transparency, which is appealing to many who consume social media.  Examples of document sharing sites include:

• Slideshare.net
• DocStoc.com
• Scribd.com

Step 10 - Always be aware of new tools and new channels. 

Keep your eyes and ears open for new and emerging social media tools. Remember you want to have a presence with your customers in the channels of their choice. Stay included in conversations it's the best way to discover new social networks and social media channels.