Some highlights/lessons from the article:

Go where your customers are. The Scion Group, which owns and manages college housing, took its blogs to Facebook so they could reach their potential customers where they already play. Find out where your potential clients reside online by asking existing customers what types of social media they use (connecting off and online presences) and seeing where competitors and similar businesses in your field have successful online presences.

Don’t do it halfway! Posting events on social networks, blogging, having a Facebook profile won’t get you a lot of traction unless you have an integrated strategy for what you want to achieve, and actively work toward it every day. For example, PrepMe.com has a targeted, integrated social media presence to reach online clients: words of the day on Twitter, a Facebook crossword game, and Facebook group pages associated with high schools that use its services.

Be transparent. What does that mean? Being open, honest and responsive to online criticism. If someone complains about any aspect of your businesses, being online gives you the opportunity to acknowledge your shortcoming and make it right. Take advantage of that.

About the project

The site is anchored around weekly “endless deeps,” user-submitted quotes and original one-line sayings that offer perspective on a particular topic. Weekly video blogs explore the nature of each endless deep query, which is a prompt for users to submit their quotes on a particular topic (miracles, forgiveness, work security, etc.).

The blog is connected to a ning social network, an open, many-to-many forum where people can further discuss quotes and provocative features found on the blog, create their own groups, and more. We cull the social network for new feature topics and potential endless deep “winners” and prompts for the week. Users drive the site’s content and agenda.

The blog is also a springboard to related charitable events, like another social network we’re developing for an upcoming celebrity pancake-eating contest. Participants will keep blogging notes online—such as their “training” diary—and people can submit their pledges online. Proceeds will benefit St. Luke’s food bank beneficiaries.