Since the recession in 2008 the number of people in the UK starting up their own business has jumped by 367,000, taking the total 4.2 million. There is a plethora of information online about how to set-up on your own and what you’ll need to do to get your business off the ground.

One of the most important aspects of getting a business going is letting people know what you’re doing and growing your client base, so we’ve put together a quick, simple guide on how to start-up in social media and really get your business out there.

1)     Take the time to research the different sites available, from Twitter to Bebo to Pinterest. Find out what works on these sites and where that fits in with your business model. You may not need to be on every social networking site!

2)     Next find out where your audience is. There is plenty of information available online that will tell you where key target demographic groups are spending their time. Once you know where your potential customers are, you’ll know where to focus your energies.

3)     Have a look at what companies similar to you are doing. You’ll get inspiration from their content, how often they post and what kind of engagement their fans have with them.

4)     Get a plan! It’s good practice to have a Social Media Policy in place, even if you’re a one (wo)man band. This policy should outline the values and philosophy behind your business and set out what is acceptable content and what is not.

5)     Have an idea on what you’re going to talk about. Do you blog? What do your audience like? What would they like about your business? What makes your business unique? What are other people in the industry saying? It’s always worthwhile to have an idea of what is going up and when, so there is continuity and your audience know when you’re likely to post.

6)     Get the look right. Making sure your profile is branded and gets your message across is paramount – you want people to know who you are and what you do instantly! Fill out as many field as you can when setting up a profile and make sure you get the link to your website in there.

7)     Set some goals – it helps to work towards something. Make sure they are realistic and achievable; it doesn’t have to be volumetric (i.e. how many likes, fans or followers you have). It’s more useful to set some targets on engagement or flow through to website, so that social media is working for you.

8)     Keep it going! Once you’ve started and people are engaging with you, don’t stop! These are potential customers and they’re interested in you and your brand. They will talk about you online and recommend you to their friends. This is how you will start to grow your business.