Social media can be overwhelming if taken in all at once; the trick is a narrow focus on stapled concepts.

Social networking is one of those areas that can seem impossible to master, a style of marketing so broad that a coherent strategy is all but impossible.

But as with most concepts that appear daunting, social networking can be tamed by following a series of relatively simple, straightforward tasks, and we’ve boiled it down to the four most notable:

1. Don’t Be a Numbers Guy/Gal – We love numbers here at Chicago Agent; we spend hours practically swimming in them. However, don’t become too fixated on numbers within the social media stratosphere. Sure, you may ‘like’ 400 things on Facebook and have 500 followers on Twitter, but are those big numbers adding to your business at all?
2. Do Build Effective Relationships – Instead, focus on maximizing your relationships with the followers you have. One great social media interaction will go much farther than 20 mediocre flings, and they could very well lead to new business. The folks at BiggerPockets, though, do issue a very important warning for initial contacts: “This isn’t the time to sell them on your business because you don’t want to come off as a salesman. However, you can simply tell them who you are and what you do.”
3. Publish Appropriate Content – Always be sure to publish content that is appropriate for your audience. Start by asking yourself, “What is the purpose of my profile?” Is your Twitter feed your own personal account? Is your Facebook page devoted solely to your brokerage? Figure that out, and then publish content accordingly. So if your Twitter page is more personal, then wry tweets about last night’s episode of “Girls” and the all-you-can-eat crab leg dinner on Halsted will be fine. If you have an account that’s only for your business, though, leave the pop culture at the door, and focus on sharing fun, informative articles that demonstrate your business savvy…like the one you’re reading now! But of course, the two can be intermingled, but only if your clients recognize your brand for that reason. Social media should always complement your inherent brand, not defy it.
4. Publish…but in Moderation – Although you have sterling content to share, make sure you’re careful in how you share it; you’ll easily alienate followers by posting an exorbitant amount of material, so be sure to stay active with your posting without overdoing it (around three to four posts a day is a good margin).