Maybe you stumbled upon this post because you check the HMG blog regularly (if so, kudos!). But most likely, you saw one of our posts on either our Facebook or our Twitter linking you here directly—the effects of social media are everywhere. A couple of months ago, we posted a blog post about the importance of having a good web presence. To expand on this, having an online presence across a multitude of social media platforms enables us to have greater reach, interaction and overall engagement. Here are a few brief tips to consider when establishing and maintaining your online social media presence:

1. Learn to balance multiple social media accounts. If you really want to make your online presence known, only having a Facebook account that you check every so often just won’t cut it anymore. Contrarily, don’t sign up for an account on every social media site thinking you’ll somehow be able to handle having twelve different (and effective) profiles—that’s just as unrealistic. Think of your social media presence as a triangle, where each of the three points represents a separate and unique social media account in which you focus most of your efforts. Then, once you establish yourself on three main networks, you can fill in the connecting sides with other accounts if time permits. I would recommend including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn in your three points. I fill in the sides of my own triangle with Instagram and Pinterest—the third side I’ve left blank, but again, only take on as many accounts as you can handle.

2. Keep your profiles updated. With so much going on in our lives, it’s easy to forget to update an online profile. But if you’re seriously committed to enhancing and maintaining your online presence, keeping your accounts current is key. Referring back to the triangle analogy in tip #1, try to take some time out of each day to focus on each account, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Whether it’s making a new status/tweet, uploading a picture or even just commenting on someone else’s post, you’re engaging with your followers. And as you update your profiles, don’t be afraid to share one profile on another profile—in other words, it’s okay to post your Twitter link to your Facebook profile every now and then. A little self-promotion never hurts; just don’t get carried away.

3. Be consistent.  This goes for both quality of posts and quantity of posts. In regards to quality of posts, try to maintain a similar social media style or “personality” throughout your accounts. Are your tweets typically lighthearted and humorous? Throwing a depressing tweet in there might throw off your followers. From an industry standpoint as opposed to a personal one, posting things relevant to your industry is crucial. In regards to quantity of posts, simply maintain consistency by posting regularly.

Follow these three tips and you’ll be well on your way to a stellar social media presence. There are countless other tactics you can employ when building your online social media presence, but these are simply a basis for starting. HMG’s social media triangle includes our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn—what social networks will you put in your triangle?