The new frontier of Web 2.0 is not just about informing your customers; it’s about customer engagement. Unlike email, mailers, newsletters, or ads, which are designed to inform your audience, social media is about creating a dialogue with your customers and eliciting a response. Ultimately, social media is about the social — trying to get people talking about something that’s important to them and to your business.

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In order to use social media effectively as part of a niche marketing effort, says Dan Burrus, founder and CEO of Burrus Research, your organization needs to pinpoint the specific message you want to put out, so that all employees have a clear focus and a unified purpose. Focus on the core message your company wants to portray, and then determine the best ways to spread that core message.

For example, Burrus points to one company in the retail industry that uses social media to highlight things they’re doing internally to improve the customer experience, what they’re doing online to make shopping easier, and how they’re handling phone inquiries to deliver a memorable shopping experience. They also regularly ask customers how they’d like the company to improve customer service.

According to Burrus, the following niche marketing tips can help you create social media guidelines for your staff to help them shape their posts around the strategy you’ve established. (Note: These suggestions are general in nature. Be sure to adhere to your state’s HR laws and seek legal counsel as needed.)

• Transparency builds trust. Take every opportunity to establish yourself as a credible representative of the company. Disclose your identity, your affiliation with the organization, your clients, and your professional or personal interest. When posting to a blog, always use your real name.

• Give due credit. When posting copyrighted material, identify the original source. Give credit where it is due for all nonoriginal content, but never use a client’s name in a posting unless they have given written permission to do so.

• Self-edit. Before posting online material, ensure it is accurate and truthful, with no factual errors. Do a spell and grammar check on everything. Content never disappears entirely once it’s been posted, so correct errors promptly.

• Take responsibility. You are responsible for what you post. The tone of your comments should be respectful and informative, never argumentative, condescending, or inflammatory. Admit mistakes, apologize if necessary, correct any errors, and move on.

• Mind company secrets. Never disclose proprietary or confidential information. This includes product releases, service updates, and employee information not made public yet.

• Obey the rules. Follow local, state, or federal laws and regulations, the company’s internal rules (typically found in the employee handbook), and the rules established by each social networking venue. Your online activities are a reflection on the company.

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