Yesterday, I was chatting with a friend of mine about the PR his startup had “fallen into.” They actually created a really cool iPhone application and people noticed. He was excited about the coverage, but while his company wants to be engaged with the media and users, he and his fellow entrepreneurs often find storytelling and driving the narrative around their brand takes a back seat to delivering product / shipping code. Product of course, is the right focus, but new social media tools are making the engagement piece of the puzzle a little easier.

LISTEN

Start by listening. Before you jump into the conversation, know your audience. In this case, know where people are coming from. Is your company being talked about? Start your social media engagement by knowing what is being said about your company online and in the media. Google Alerts (http://www.google.com/alerts) makes it easy to create a vanity search (your company name) and have news, video, web mentions, etc. sent to the email you choose. Depending on the industry, it may make sense to create similar