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Extreme Social Media Workouts: SM 10X30
Basic Training Track

Workout 1: Let's Get Fired Up

Pain: Feel like you're behind the 8-ball?

For a while, it seemed like a fad. But now everybody's on Facebook® or Twitter®, and you feel like it's all passed you by. Where do you begin?

Gain: Take the first step.

Congratulations. You're on your way to getting in great social media shape. Sure, the new face of PR can be a bit intimidating, but we'll walk you through all the steps. You can do it – just practice the exercises in your Basic Training workouts and you'll be on top of the social media world in less than two weeks. And don't forget to save all ten workout emails for your future reference.

Workout: Make a name for yourself.

Before you do anything else, you need a user name. Because we're focused on using social media as part of your PR role, you may want to base it on your name, rather than interests or hobbies. You might consider incorporating part of your company name or something that speaks to your business expertise. But remember, people in social networks want to interact with a person, not a company.

• Is your name available across the social media universe? Visit namechk.com to see if you can use your preferred username on all social media sites. After all, you wouldn't want to be known as "Fred" to one set of friends, "Jim" to your family, and "Steve" to your coworkers.

Now it's time to create accounts and profiles at Google® and the big three social networking sites. (You're welcome to sign up for more, but we don't want to overwhelm you on the first day.) Don't worry about seeking friends or contacts just yet. We'll do that in a few days.

• Create a Google account. This will give you access to alerts and rich information down the road. And your Google profile makes it easy for the public to find you.
• Create a Facebook® account.
• Create a LinkedIn® account.
• Create a Twitter® account.

Go the extra mile: Get social on your mobile.

Set up mobile access from your smartphone:

• Visit BlackBerry® App World or the Apple® App Store to download the Facebook app.
• Visit the Apple App Store to load the LinkedIn app on your iPhone®.
• On your smartphone, go to m.twitter.com to set up mobile Twitter access.
• On your smartphone, go to m.linkedin.com to set up mobile LinkedIn access.