Start by asking yourself what do you want out of social media. If you’re looking for fun then it doesn’t really matter where you begin. If you are looking to utilize it to network professionally in some capacity, either for yourself or your corporate brand, then there is a very specific place to start with it.

Social media can and should be used as a reflection of your offline life , so more than likely you will have a good mixture of both personal and professional. That being said, here’s a great place to start if you’re looking to grow your professional network:

Sign up to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Add relevant profile/bio info and use your universal avatar on all of them. Since these are my three main social networks I generally change my avatar on all three to show an updated recent acceptable photo. All of my other networks have the same exact photo of me that isn’t the most recent one. (I would also sign up for a  Gravatar- a globally recognized avatar, this way your visual identity goes with you everywhere it’s accepted.)

The most important thing in social networks is to add a clear, close photo that people can relate to. This isn’t the time to be creative or artistic. You can do that in other photos that are not your avatar. This is the photo that draws them in. Any other photos show your personality. However, it should be noted that it generally is accepted that your LinkedIn photo should err on the more professional looking side, whereas a Twitter/Facebook photo can be a little more casual or fun.

If you function online professionally you must have a professional link. Whether it be your website, blog or even JUST your LinkedIn or Visual CV link, you MUST have a link that allows the viewer to find more information about you.

Once you’ve put all your information in your social network bios I would double check it for grammar, cadence and keywords. Keywords are important- ESPECIALLY on Twitter- because this is how people find you in searches on these sites. For example, if you’re in construction management you would put those two words plus any major relevant words in your bio. In your Twitter bio you only have 160 words to tell people who you are so it’s EXTREMELY important to get to the point and just list the major things you do with the specific keywords.

On Twitter it’s also important to talk about these topics often but not in a robotic manner. Be aware of your conversations and how you are saying something. There are people out there monitoring keywords in search.twitter.com for real-time mention of them so they can connect with like minds. There are also people who automatically add anyone who mentions certain keywords. There are many tools to monitor keywords mentioned in real time but I would start with a simple search.twitter.com search to add people who are talking about what you’re interested in.

On Facebook and LinkedIn, join groups and become active in them. Once you meet new people in Twitter add them on Facebook and LinkedIn to further extend your relationships. Also, be sure to build your local connections (or connections where you often travel to) because nothing is more important than extending online relationships offline. Also, besides just extending online relationships offline, extend offline relationships online. Find out people’s social network information and add them right away if you can.

This is a beginning. You’ll learn more as you go. Happy networking!