So your client or company has set up its social profiles and channels. The big question now is how to build up large communities of friends, fans, and followers. I did a little survey in our office and got a lot of great suggestions — here are 25 of them. Of course there are more, but this checklist is a good start.
Place a personal ad. Use online media (display banners, Flash ads, widget/gadget ads, etc.) to drive traffic to your social media channels. Facebook pages can make great landing pages. They also let you present very high-value brand interactions that spark viral distribution through existing social technologies.
Start with people who know your company. Add Facebook or Twitter addresses to the bottom of your company’s e-mail signature.
Pepper your site. Add calls to action to your site inviting people to become your company’s friend, fan, or follower. Put the icons and links on the bottom of every page and in your “contact us” section.
Create a social hub. Make sure your site has a social hub page in the “about us” section that includes calls to action to friend, fan, or follow you and links to your profiles and channels.
Weave your social Web. Make sure your company’s Facebook page has links to your Twitter page. Also, periodically tweet the benefits of becoming a fan of your Facebook page.