The world of Social Media can seen a bit overwhelming for newcomers. With so many options to choose from and buzz words like "Hashtags", "Retweets", "Fan Gates", it can be hard to know where to start.

Recently, a lot of our clients have been asking the same question:

"Which social networks do I need?"

There is no straight forward answer, as every clients needs and customer base is different. The first step is identifying your potential online market. Chances are, you already know this if you've already made the step to move online or have an existing website.

If you're reading this, chances are you probably already have a social network account, or even several which you use on a personal level. If not, it's a great time to start. Play around and get comfortable. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn can all be used for personal and business use.

Normally we suggest treating your website as a central hub as usually this is where you ultimately want to drive customers toward to boost sales. From there we usually suggest focusing on a few key areas/ networks - you can always add and expand on those later once you've got a fan base (and your head round how they all work!)

A good starting point is:

1) Your Blog (this is also a great way to boost SEO rankings for any website)
2) Facebook
3) Twitter

Surveys have shown that the public are much more likely to trust (and therefore buy) from companies who have active accounts - it shows them as "real people", not just some automated system.

Consider your content

It’s important to have content on your social media pages before you start adding friends and followers. When you try to find followers, they’re going to look at the page to see if they want to follow you. So you need to give them a reason to follow you first. Provide valuable information about the industry and don't focus solely on your products.

Currently the most commonly used networks are Twitter and Facebook and these are a great place to start. LinkedIn is increasingly popular but seen as the more "grown up and serious", more business side of things. Google+ is starting to take off, but it's still in relatively early days compared to the other networks and there are no shortages of other out there such as YouTube, Digg, Tumblr and many others.

Each network has their own merit, and specific use. For example, YouTube's primary focus is video, which isn't always key to every businesses success.

Facebook offers the ability to have bespoke fan page tabs (essentially mini-websites) to increase fan bases and promote products/ launch competitions, gain subscriptions and much more. You can add "like gates" which encourage users to become fans before they can see certain content - this effectively "subscribes" them to your posts, very much like becoming "friends" on the personal side of Facebook.
There is also some great Facebook functionality which can be leveraged to encourage users to share things with the friends within these tabs and apps. You obviously don't need to add these advanced features to start with. Many businesses choose to have a simple page, including information about the business, opening times, links and maybe some relevant images. Custom Fan Pages can always be added later.

Help with Social Marketing

There are a variety of tools out there to help make your life easier. We use TweetDeck (free from Twitter) which can be used to post to multiple Twitter accounts and Facebook accounts at once.
Hoot Suite is also very good - it really comes down to personal preference and what works for you.

It is worth considering your content though if posting to multiple networks at once. Different channels/ networks are better suited to different kinds of posts.

Twitter is limited to 140 characters, whereas Facebook is much more flexible and you can add inline images & videos to posts.
Social Networks can be used to promote blog articles, but consider mixing up other posts - think of it from the user perspective; many people use both Twitter and Facebook. You'll want to attract both - if someone is subscribed on Facebook, what is the incentive for me to follow on Twitter if the posts are all identical?

Your first priority should be building that relationship with people, not pitching your service or product.

We hope that gives a small insight into the world of social networking.

If you'd like to know more, or get things kickstarted for your business, get in touch for a chat.

Twitter has introduced a whole new look and re-design for it's website Twitter.com and TweetDeck, as well as its mobile apps, that it hopes will simplify the user experience.

How do I get the new Twitter?

Currently, you'll need to download the latest version of Twitter for iPhone or Twitter for Android to get access to the redesigned Twitter on your computer.

As the video above outlines, Twitter also introduced three new buttons at the top of the page — Home, @Connect and #Discover. @Connect shows who has mentioned you and suggests some accounts you might want to follow. #Discover shows what’s trending and points you to notable stories and videos.

For more information, you can check out fly.twitter.com

We've recently launched a redesign of our website and portfolio, showcasing some of our best work from websites, to games to Facebook Fan Pages. Take a look around and let us know what you think!

The new design has just been featured as one of the "Best on the Internet" by Focus Designer. Head over and vote for us if you have the time HERE.

We also have a new Facebook Fan Page - make sure you don't forget to "Like" us to keep up to date with all our latest projects. We've got some great new bespoke Facebook projects being built at the moment, so stay tuned!

We're close to launching a new iTunes LP for Noel Gallgher's latest album High Flying Birds.

iTunes LP and iTunes Extras are interactive experiences created to accompany music and movies. iTunes LP lets listeners hear an album and view lyrics, liner notes, band photos, performance videos, and more.

Stay tuned for more details on the release or 'Like' us on Facebook for all the latest news http://facebook.com/dcoedesigns

We've moved!

DCOE:D has moved over from the old Group page to a new Facebook Fan Page. If you haven't already, head over and take a look.

http://www.facebook.com/dcoedesigns

Make sure you LIKE us too!

Check out the new DCOE:D community app on your iPhone for FREE.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Recently you can't escape Facebook. It's everywhere and everyone who is anyone is on it.
That's why there has been an explosion of Facebook Fan Pages and custom tabs by big and small companies, brands, musicians and businesses recently. And why not? It's a great way to engage your users, promote products, build you fan base and more.

Luckily we're here to offer a great service to do just that; build your very own bespoke Fan Page or tab.

Here are a few examples we've been working on recently:

http://www.facebook.com/Flirtomatic
http://www.facebook.com/evianUK
http://www.facebook.com/TropicanaJuices
http://www.facebook.com/mileskanemusic?sk=app_194837897220998

and many more Facebook Fan Pages in the pipeline.

If you'd like to discuss with us - drop us a line.

www.dcoed.com

To help Walkers raise money for Comic Relief we built some viral Facebook tools on the official Walkers Facebook page featuring some of the UK's best loved comics. Check out the link and create your very own funny videos and profile pictures!

We've also been busy recently doing a lot of other Facebook Fan Pages. Some notable brands including evian and Tropicana. If you would like a Fan Page for your business, drop us a line www.dcoed.com.

In other news, our very own DCOE:DESIGNS iPhone app is nearly ready for release and will be available for free! Watch this space...

Happy New Year!

Cold rainy start here in Bristol...
This year will see DCOE:DESIGNS getting stuck into some iPhone development so if you're interested in having an iPhone app built, get in touch!

We've nearly finished the new iTunes LP for Beady Eye's debut album - stay tuned for that!

We've also just launched the official Facebook Fan Page for evian UK. check it out and become a fan.

If you missed it just before Christmas, we also launched our first true 3D online racing game for the film Death Race 2. Have a play, race your Facebook friends and see where you rank amongst the 6k+ and growing current challengers.

Happy 2011 from dcoed!

Merry Christmas!

We've just launched our first Unity 3D racing game deathrace2game.com

Challenge and race your Facebook friends in the all new Death Race 2 Game to celebrate and promote the release of the new film! Enjoy!

We've got some other great websites, Facebook apps, online games, iTunes LP's and much more coming up in 2011 so stay tuned!

Also a big thank you to all our clients throughout 2010.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!