Last week I posted that more Australia-based companies needed to get involved in social media.  That’s great advice - but once you “jump the broom” and decide to get involved, where do you start?  Over the coming days I’ll offer advice - and seek counsel from readers - on how to get started.

Early in my blog I wrote about the difficulty of finding your voice.  This was based on the difficulty of starting a blog and finding the most natural way to express myself.  While social media is multi-faceted with a wide range of options available (Second Life, YouTube, Wiki, Blogs) let’s start by looking at blogs. 

First and foremost be clear about your goal for starting a blog.  It may be an avenue to open direct conversations with consumers.  You may explore it as a way to provide information to a special interest group.  Stonyfield Farm has two blogs to meet the information needs of specific consumers - be they parents with young children, or people interested in organic food products.  One communication channel couldn’t meet the needs of both parties - unless they were new parents wanting organic yogurt! 

Be really clear with your objective.  Because if you’re not clear then your audience has absolutely no chance of arriving at the same conclusion!  My blog was started for two reasons.  First I wanted to position myself as a leader in communications issues of matter to Australia.  Second I wanted to gain on-line experience in new media (”Teacher teach yourself”). 

So with a clear objective firmly in mind, start practicing.  Open up a Word document and write trial posts each and every day.  You need to commit to daily exercise otherwise you’ll lose the ability to create fresh material daily.  If you don’t post daily then you’re at risk of becoming stale and obsolete. 

Frankly this is the hardest point - how do you find your voice?  What style will you adopt as you write every day?  Avoid memo language.  The way we draft inter-company emails is not the way we should write on blogs.  Loosen your tie - write for your Mother or a friend.  Take on a friendly language that’s easier to read.  Gone are the days of “command and control” writing - if your blog sounds like a press release or a corporate memo you’ll never gain a readership. 

Get started - try it today.  Figure out your objective then start writing.  After time you’ll find your groove.