Listen, Listen, Listen

There is significance in that I have three "listens" in my title.

The first is a give. A large part of working successfully in social media is listening to your audience/community. They will tell you what they want to know more about. They'll tell each other the secrets that you have been wanting to hear but had no place to eavesdrop. They will let you know what's wrong, what's right, and by not speaking up, they'll tell you what doesn't interest them.

Secondly, a portion of that success comes from listening to your peers in the industry to learn new things. What new tool is your competition using that might be of benefit to your next campaign? What can you take from a recent "Top 10" post and meld to make your own? With such a new industry, we're all trying to find what works best, and tuning into those external conversations will keep you in the loop.

Finally, listen to your coworkers. Just because they don't actively participate in social media at work doesn't mean that it's not of interest to them. I'm not a burger-flipper, but I do have an idea of what toppings I'd like to see on my double cheeseburger that, if they were used, could end up being a best seller. I'm lucky in that most of my extended team are personally socially active, so they understand the basics. I am also lucky in that they are also hungry for knowledge and like to share. So give your colleagues the chance to speak - you're no expert (yet) and collaboration can only help.