Social media can be an incredibly powerful tool for creating and building relationships, but it’s not magic.

You can’t just create a profile and expect other people to do all the work for you. If you want to talk, you have to let people know you’re there!

Here are some simple tips to help make sure your followers can find you:

Put some links on your website.

This might seem obvious but it’s amazing how many people don’t do it and as a consequence miss some huge opportunities.

If somebody is looking at your website it’s likely that they are interested in what you do. They might not be at the buying stage yet, but social media is a great way to keep in touch with them and provide even more evidence that you’re the one to buy from.

By making sure you not only include the social media links on your website, but actually invite them to follow you, you’re building a relationship rather than losing a potential customer.

Get your social media information on your business card:

You meet someone at a networking meeting, they think what you do is interesting and take your business card.

The next day they see the business card on their table and think they’ll just have a look at your website.  They find out all sorts of information about the services you offer, the products you make, but they’re still not sure if they want to refer people to you – they don’t really know YOU.

By including your social media details – LinkedIn Profile, Twitter name etc. – you don’t just leave that person with your contact details, you leave them with a piece of your personality. They can follow you on Twitter; see what you talk about and how you communicate with people. Have your LinkedIn profile on there and they can connect with you, share interesting content and provide you with links to others with no pressure on them.

Contact details no longer just consist of a phone number and email so get those social media details on your business card.

P.S. The same goes for your email signature!

Make yourself easy to find:

Don’t use random usernames like CosmicCat34 or something so popular you end up with hundreds of numbers after your name like Lucy83434, and don’t make it hard to spell.

Try and make it obvious, have your company name if it’s available, have your own name if that’s how people know you. In some cases it’s useful to have a username that reflects what you do rather than what you’re called e.g. @StAlbansDogWalker.

Just think about how people will search for you and use something that’s likely show up in the results.

TIP: Want to know what usernames are available – use a site like www.knowem.com to find what names are available on which sites.

Use a photo and make sure it’s of you!

Your photo is really important. That doesn’t mean you have to have professional shots done or be suitable for the covers of Vogue, just that it’s a clear picture and that it actually looks like you.

Personal accounts might be different, but if you are using this stuff for business you need to be sensible. No pictures of your pets, no pictures from 30 years ago and no pictures of the back of your head.

Your photo is the way your new connections will know it’s you – either because they’ll recognize you online after meeting you in person, or they’ll recognize you in person after seeing you online.