This week in “Profiles in New Business Leadership” we are featuring social media expert, blogger and host of the Amateur Traveler podcast, Chris Christensen.  Chris lives in the Silicon Valley and is a consultant for the LiveWorld internet community.  He has also worked for IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Momenta and Apple Computer.  By night, he is an avid blogger and podcaster.  Here are some tips Chris had to share with us about Social Media…

In your opinion, what are the best practices for social media strategy?

1. Make sure your products and services are worth talking about. If you have a bad product your social media strategy is to get serious about improving your product first!
2. Make sure you have a business strategy and a marketing strategy. Companies that try and form a twitter strategy without having an overall plan are heading fast in no particular direction.
3. Start blogging first if you do nothing else. A blog is a great home base for the rest of your strategy. Find your voice. Don’t just talk about your products but talk about what interests you and what interests your customers.
4. Find an authentic voice. I have never read a press release that reads like people actually talk. Read “The Clue Train Manifesto” and “Made to Stick” if you need to re-learn how to communicate.
5. Provide value in your blog, podcast, tweets, updates, etc. Don’t think of social media as just one more way to send out the same old brand message.

What is the absolute best way to grow your number of followers on Twitter?
Be interesting. There are certainly tactics like contests, interacting with popular twitterers and following back virtually everyone that will give you higher numbers but over time if you are not interesting you will not retain followers. One thing to know is twitterers like humor… a lot.

What is the best way for companies to see an ROI from social media/networking?
Some areas like crowd sourced support boards are very easy to calculate an ROI while other areas are more difficult. Your bottom line for your companies is to sell more widgets so eventually all activities, including social media, need to be measured by how they help you achieve that goal. Most social media activities should be thought of as customer retention activities and valued that way.

How can a social media rookie get up to speed quickly?  Where should they focus their energies first? Social media takes time.  Someone has to take the time to be involved in it. There are a great number of books out there. For executives, I would recommend Ron Ploof’s book, “Read This First.” Also check to see if there is a Social Media Breakfast or a Social Media Camp in your area which is a wonderful place to associate with people who know social media… perhaps consider bringing in a social media consultant like me!

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