NutshellBased on what I’ve learned from working within a large organization, there are many suggestions I have for managers in marketing, communications, or public relations before they leap into the social media space.

While I truly believe that large corporations need to learn how to act like small, local businesses again in order to be more successful in the social media space, large corporations that are just now considering their social media strategies face their own unique challenges.

In addition to feeling pressure that they’re behind the adoption curve, leaders in these organizations may face additional challenges than those faced by small businesses [see Small Business Social Media Starting Points]. However, I would suggest the following four broad strategies.

1. Do your research. Find out what your competition is doing and where your target consumers are already participating. You can learn a great deal from the conversations that are already taking place.

2. Bring legal on board. Find out what questions and concerns they have and alleviate those pain points. In all likelihood, they are only trying to protect you from litigation, not stonewall you completely. Remember, they are the ones that will likely have to sign off on all of the content you publish so it’s important to preview your plans and get their buy-in before you get too far down the road.

3. Start with established platforms. Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube offer established networks from which to build a social media presence. Building your own site means more internal politics to negotiate. Plus, you may not have enough content to start your own blog or have the best product for a community, so plan accordingly. If you can only dip your toes in the water, maybe Twitter is the place to start by participating at 140 characters at a time. Or, perhaps you have a stellar website that just lacks ratings and reviews to connect with your huge fan base. Existing sites also have moderation options to aid you protecting/managing your corporate reputation. Key here would be to build from your strengths or start with what’s easiest or most cost effective and go from there.

4. Be prepared to tell your story.Operating at a best-in-class level according to innovators in the space takes time, budget, and headcount. There will always be new vendors and social media “experts” who come along and tell you how you can do it better, cheaper, or faster. Or, on the flip side, try and sell you a myriad of tactics that look interactive and engaging for your users, but cost a million and don’t deliver much long-term value for the price. Just remember — there are different criteria for success. Plan in advance to make sure you have enough data to illustrate how and why you’re participating in the ways you are. For example, because of budget and headcount limitations, your social strategy may need to rely more on optimizing for organic search, rather than on seeding your efforts with paid advertising that would bring in larger quantities of traffic. Because of time constraints, you may be limited to how many sites you can manage and listen in at the same time. Figure out what’s feasible and most important to the organization.

In a nutshell, you need to do your research, develop your strategy, plan your tactics, and communicate effectively. If you had to focus the advice you’d give large businesses into 3-4 broad tips, what would you suggest?