7 ways to build your brand with social media and 3 ways to ruin it.

Social media is becoming a force to be reckoned with in terms of building your company’s brand equity and strength. And according to brand expert  Jennifer Bourn, there are a handful of steps you ought to take to maintain and build your brand’s value:

1. Secure your social media brand: Register your name and business name on a variety of social media sites. Even if you don’t plan on using a site, you might want to consider securing your name anyway for future use. NameChk.com and Knowem.com are two free sites to help you get started.

2. Keep your message focused: “By keeping a consistent message across all social media sites and platforms, you build brand recognition that pays off over time.”

3. Provide value your audience will appreciate: “Providing links to valuable articles and resources, sharing your recent blog post, etc., are all ways to help your audience and share your expertise.”

4. Showcase your personality: “Share posts that give your network a glimpse into your personal life…These posts will provide opportunities for your network to connect with you on a deeper and more meaningful level.”

5. Remember to be social: “Social networks are just that – social networks. If all you do is post information and links [without interacting] with your audience, you are missing the most important part of building a successful social media brand – building strong relationships.”

6. Keep your avatar/profile photo consistent: “Using a photo of your dog or cat is useless to your network and frankly, it makes you seem unprofessional.”

7. Help others: “When you read a good blog post, article, press release or social networking post, tell other people about it and share the link.”

How about damaging your brand using social media?

While social media has the power to help humanize your brand and connect you with your customers, Internet strategist, B.L. Ochman, cautions businesses to use some common sense when they wade into the new medium.

1. If you start a Twitter account or Facebook page, use it: “All it really takes to slow down an issue is a human being responding quickly to say something as simple as ‘Thanks for making us aware of this issue. We are checking it now.’ And then, the company has a reasonable amount of time to say what went wrong.”

2. Track your brand with monitoring tools: “The Internet is 24/7. Brand monitoring has to be constant. Pick [a tool]. Use it.”

3. Don’t keep your social media program a secret: “Corporate silos just don’t work in social media.” Make sure everyone in your company knows about your social media presence.

How have you used social media to enhance your brand? Where do you feel social media falls short?