Now that you�ve created your personalized, professional social media sites, it�s time to make them work in your favor. Remember that social media is constantly evolving, which means that you have to stay on top of your game at all times. You should be updating your status and profile on a daily basis to keep things current. The last thing that you want to do is create a fabulous Facebook page and just leave it sitting idol.

Social media is all about keeping the communication and interaction alive. Just like an advertisement, you�ll want to lure people in with up-to-the-minute interesting information about your organization or company. If you want to get noticed, you have to keep updating your social media sites. Keep the daily blog alive; keep your Facebook page and status fresh; Tweet the latest news from your organization in a timely fashion. Nothing is worse than day old news. People are impatient and they tend to look in one spot for all of their news and information. Frankly, Facebook and Twitter tend to be where most young people get their news and gossip. If you want to capture this audience, you�ll have to keep the momentum going.

Use Facebook to post relevant links, photos, and information about your organization. Take advantage of the status update, by writing your latest message points in three sentences or less. You can also start a discussion page to make your site interactive. Use Twitter to tweet the latest news about your company. Don�t forget to blog about relevant topics that affect your organization and post videos of your organization on YouTube. Just remember to post information that is relevant to your cause.

The one thing that you�ll need to be cautious about is unwanted posts and reactions on your page. If you post something that is slightly offensive, there could be backlash on your own Facebook page. This is one of the main reasons why you have to constantly monitor it.

When all is said and done, social media (if done right) can launch your organization to new heights. It has the potential of making an unknown a national sensation. Social media can link you to people and organizations that you weren�t aware of, and it will create new paths for you to explore. Just follow the three simple rules below and in no time, you can enjoy the fruits of your labor.

1.�Create
2.�Update
3.�Monitor

Here are some simple steps to take to ensure that social media works in your favor, instead of against it.

1) Delete all unflattering photos where you are drinking excessively or doing other inappropriate actions. This includes photos that people tagged of you and photos that are in your own albums. Also, if you notice that one of your friends has 50 pictures of you partying, please ask her or him to take them off Facebook immediately.

2) Watch what you say on Twitter and on your Facebook status. Think of it this way: If you wouldn�t stand in front of an audience of a million strangers and friends to make the announcement, then why would you do it via Twitter or Facebook? Try to keep your updates to a bare minimum and stick with neutral topics that don�t damage your reputation or trash the reputation of others.

3) Links, wall posts and blogs, OH MY! If you�ve got a lot to say, it�s better to always say it to someone�s face, instead of turning to social media to blurt it out to the public. The links you post, the videos you upload, the stuff you write on people�s walls and the things you say in your blog can all be traced back to you. It can say a lot about your character and it can cause friendships to be broken, potential employers to be turned off, and your own reputation could be shot.

4) Privacy please! Be sure to change your privacy settings on your Facebook/MySpace account. De-�friend� people who you don�t really know on a personal level. Keep your profile closed to just your friends that you approve of and don�t �friend� people who you�ve never even met in person. You don�t know who they are or what their intentions might be.

5) Lastly, you should treat your Twitter/Facebook/blog as a tool to help you get ahead in life. It�s almost like having a living resume of your life. By all means, post pictures of yourself doing community service work. Put a good headshot of yourself as your profile picture instead of the photo that you currently have of yourself in your skimpy bikini. Change your profile information to sound more like a resume. If you are looking for a job, tweet about it. Chances are someone will know of an opening and alert you.

When all is said and done, social media can be a great help or a horrible hindrance. You should definitely use sites that are more geared toward career networking like Linked In instead of Twitter. I am telling you from personal experience that what you post on Twitter/Facebook really does matter. So make it positive and make it count!

Now that you understand the importance of social media, you won�t want to miss my discussion on how to keep the momentum rolling.

— Theresa Farrage

Resume�check! Cover letter�check! Professionally crafted social media sites�say what? If you think that your personalized social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are immune to damaging your professional reputation, think again. Although you may have changed your Facebook privacy settings so that you are ultra protected, information that you post has a way of lingering around cyberspace. Since social media is one of the most powerful tools in the universe today, you�ll want to make sure that it doesn�t end your career and reputation with just one click. What happens on Facebook/Twitter/MySpace/YouTube has a way of reaching your potential employer.

What does this mean to you? Well, remember all those unflattering pictures of you on Facebook. Oops! Or remember when you changed your Twitter status to bad-mouth one of your fellow co-workers? Chances are, somebody somewhere saw this and remembered it even long after you deleted it. Since we are all connected in someway or another, what we put up on our social media sites tends to spread faster than melted butter on hot toast. When it comes to landing a job in today�s market, social media can kill your career even before it begins.

Want to know how to make social media work in your favor? Stay tuned for my next post where I explore some of the do�s and don�ts when it comes to social media.

— Theresa Farrage

Whether you own a small jewelry-making business or you are a Fortune 500 company, social media is extremely important for your organization. Why exactly?� With the rise of technology, including the Internet, news coverage has become a 24/7 event. Digital channels such as blogs, YouTube, and Twitter reach far and wide into homes and communities around the world.� As news breaks, your story could be out in the public�s eye instantaneously.

Let�s say that you own a sandwich shop that recently sold some bad lunchmeat.� Some of your customers might take their complaints about your organization to the web. Using sites like Facebook and Twitter, these customers can easily spread a negative image about your company. Just like word of mouth (but much, much faster and more extensive), your image could be tarnished forever. If you become part of the social media world, you can easily track negative remarks about your organization and use your own blog, Twitter account or Facebook page to dispel any rumors and clarify what really happened and how you plan on fixing the problem.

On the flipside, when you become a part of the social media kingdom, you can help create a positive image of your business or company. You, not the reporters or the public�s opinion, have control over the message that you would like to deliver to the community. You can shape how the public conversation around your organization is evolving just by actively updating your Twitter or Facebook page. Why sit idol while the rest of the world evolves? If you want to keep your company�s momentum going, you need to become a member of this virtual playground. Whether you are trying to start your own business or reestablish an existing one, social media can be your greatest device for getting your name out there to the public. I strongly urge you to take your company or organization to the next level and join the social media revolution!

Don�t miss out on the next post. I�ll be addressing social media and how it can affect your future.

— Theresa Farrage