Your company’s revamped Web site is up-and-running and your social media networks are in place. Now what?

It’s time to start the conversation. Social marketing is a participation game. It’s about engagement. Successful social marketing campaigns require a fresh, consistent stream of useful online content. Here are three tips to keep in mind:

 Be a Publisher

Remember, your company has more to offer than products and services. You can provide useful information. Treat yourself like a publisher. Talk about your industry. Position yourself as an expert, all by crafting interesting content. Sonia Simone, senior editor of Copyblogger noted “great content gives social media life by giving people something more interesting to talk about than what they’re ordering right now at Starbucks.”

Show Personality

When creating content, take a multi-faceted approach. Post useful information and do so often. Give your Web site and social networks a shot of personality. Rebecca Lieb, vice president of eConsultancy, considers that a proven approach. “Think of the personalities not only of your consumers, but of your organization, your brand and your products,” she wrote in Marketwire.com. “This is not a new concept – we’ve had personalities like the Maytag Man in advertising for decades.”

Get Search Results

Once you’ve solidified a voice and committed to fresh content, you’ll reap the benefits of attracting new visitors. As Lee Odden of Mashable explained: “Websites that frequently add content provide more web pages for search engines to include in search results and attract more links from other websites.” Likewise, Brent Csutoras of Search Engine Land, wrote: “Content is what will convince people to return to your site and sign up for RSS feeds. It will be what inspires another blogger or webmaster to want to link to you… it will be what is likely to help your content and site rank better within search engines.

That’s right, content and search engine optimization go hand-in-hand. Your words – be it a blog entry, Tweet or Web page content – can work for or against your business goals. So get going, craft your next message, connect with a new Facebook fan or comment on a relevant blog. And let us know how it impacts your business.

Social networks like micro-blogging site Twitter have garnered plenty of attention lately – thanks to celebrity supporters from Oprah to Ashton Kutcher. Sure, it helps to have a recognizable name or brand when you’re trying to build a base of Twitter followers, Facebook fans or LinkedIn connections, but it’s not a requirement.

In a recent CNN.com piece about the growth of the site, CNET blogger Caroline McCarthy summed it up as follows: “The power of Twitter is about the millions of people using it and how easy it is to filter and aggregate their thoughts and conversations.”

To get started, sign up for one or a few of the networks that relate to your interests or your business and give it a try. The basis of social networking hinges on the term social, after all, so apply your business networking skills to the online world, and it opens up a whole new realm of possibilities.

For those of you still a little confused about how to navigate Twitter, work your way through it as you might any business or social function where most of those in attendance happen to be strangers. Learnaboutweb.com does a great job of illustrating this analogy – suggesting you start with those you know and share a bit about yourself with others to develop authentic relationships.

If the world of social networking is new to you – or just new to your business – you might be wondering why it’s worth the time and effort at all. The answer is simple. Sites like Twitter and Facebook have the power to drive significant traffic to your company’s Web site or blog, which can result in higher visibility and profits. With a little time and effort, these sites can help get the name of your business and your products out to the public.

What’s more, they give your business a personality. Use these networks to establish or further your brand. Seek out others who work in your industry or might have a use for your product and ask for their input.

Don’t feel pressure to grow your numbers exponentially. It’s best to take this one step at a time. Consider the advice of Hubspot,  which suggests a Twitter ratio of 1:1 is best. Follow and you’ll be followed – provided you’ve got something interesting and honest to add to the conversation.

So get ready, get out of your comfort zone, and start building those useful relationships. It won’t matter that you’re not Ashton Kutcher. You too can build a significant online following if you take the time to try.

The microblogging site Twitter has amassed some 6 million users in its few short years of existence. As avid Twitter users ourselves, we got to thinking – who else exactly is out there?

It seems to be a topic of some debate.

A recent post by Allen Weiss on Marketing Prof’s Daily Fix Blog noted that in recently speaking to junior and senior level college business majors – most of whom could be found on Facebook and LinkedIn – were not as familiar with Twitter. He said some considered it a waste of time or even “information overload.”

That seems to suggest that younger users don’t find value Twitter. And if you look to that age group to predict the future of social networking, it might imply that Twitter isn’t an important or viable a tool as we thought.

But we disagree – for two reasons.

First, Facebook’s deal-makers have been trying to acquire Twitter. Business Week reported recently that talks have stalled on the Twitter takeover, with Facebook reps offering $100 million andmore in stock.

If there wasn’t some evidence that Twitter would continue its massive growth, the price tag and negotiation wouldn’t have been there in the first place.

And if those numbers aren’t enough, let’s talk Skittles.

The rainbow-colored candy recently revamped its Web site giving credence to the microblogging social network. Visit Skittles.com you’re welcomed by a Twitter search page detailing all the current chatter on Skittles. And boy, has it got people talking and tweeting. Love it or hate it Skittles sees Twitter as its best bet to share information about its brand online.

Our take? Maybe Twitter’s early adopters aren’t coming from the 20-and-under crowd. But we’re willing to venture a guess and say those college students in question will have Twitter handles of their own soon enough.

Facebook might be the network of preference at the college level, but once out in the business world, we imagine these young professionals will find new and engaging uses for Twitter too.

For a site that can be used for everything from finding a job to connecting with peers to sharing news in real time, Twitter seems to have a bright future ahead.

We’re not cheerleading any one social network over another. We’re simply saying with as fast as the social media landscape is growing and evolving – perhaps predictors of its future can no longer be limited to any one demographic.

What do you think? Are you a Twitter fan – tell us why or why not. Or follow us at Publicity_Works.