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Toledo, OH--If you want to know how to create a successful social media footprint, here’s how: Look and listen. Participate. Build Relationships. Share content. Set goals and expectations.

How do I know? I Googled it. Truth is, if you want to know how to do anything, just search. It’s all out there.

True story: I wanted to tile my kitchen floor. I had never tiled anything in my life, but I figured if I could find good step-by-step instructions; what the heck. I love my tiled floor. My point is this: social media is everywhere and almost everyone is doing it. So, how can you stand out from the pack? As a fairly successful company has been known to say, “Think Different.”

I’m a marketing guy. So when I think of social media, I think about how it enhances my overall marketing strategy, which not only includes traditional media, but anything in the digital world. Think pay-per-click, SEO, Facebook, email blasts, YouTube, etc.. I call it social marketing and it’s evolving at a breakneck pace. So I thought it best to compile a few points that give you something to “think” about.

Be creative. If you’re doing things because you like how someone else is doing things, that’s not being creative, that’s playing follow the leader. How’s that going to help you stand out? Be the leader. Give your crazy ideas a chance to marinate. Don’t be afraid to be the first to do something. Put all things on the table and filter through them; remember you’re a consumer too.

Focus. Whatever you do, don’t bite off more than you can chew. Social is not plug and play. It’s a relationship and we all know how those go. Choose your platform and nurture its growth so it can be the best it can be.

Integration. Your social media strategies can and must work with traditional media. In fact, some traditional media strategies can become the main driver of traffic. Think call-to-action items like, “Visit us on Facebook for an exclusive offer!” or simply rethink the use of traditional marketing materials. After all, a button can be more than just a button.

Think ahead. Where do you think things are headed? Have you heard about the “cable cutters?” Is that all nonsense? I remember when the thought of giving up a landline to use only a cell phone was dismissed. Landlines are a dying business today. Bottom line is: how and when will evolving technologies affect how you market yourself and, more importantly, how quickly will you adapt?

Time. You may have noticed by now, social marketing takes time. Someone needs to manage this whole process and it can’t be an afterthought. There are so many components and opportunities that go into social media that it’s hard to stay on top of them all. If you don’t have the time for it, find someone who does… it will be well worth it.

A word of caution. This is the social media universe. It’s everything, all the time. A thing like customer service becomes über important. One negative post on Facebook, Yelp or any other slew of user review/comment websites becomes public and can cause a negative reaction. On the flip side, positive comments can do wonders. (BTW, this is point number six. Told you this wasn’t another 5-step social media strategy.)

Shane O’Neill is director of social marketing & design at Fruchtman Marketing, a full-service agency headquartered in Toledo, OH; representing independent jewelers, jewelry manufacturers and trade organizations throughout the United States, and a member of the American Gem Society. Call (800) 481-3520 or email Shane directly at shane@fruchtman.com. Visit us in the Lobby/Foyer at Centurion, January 29-February 1, or sign up for our free weekly newsletter at fruchtman.com.