I’ve recently been following the social media-related posts of MaineBusiness.com’s Carl V. Natale, aka “Duke of URL.” His latest entry might seem contradictory to what we here at FWD have been saying all along - “IF YOU AREN’T ALREADY ON TWITTER, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!” Especially if you are in business and want to amp up your marketing. But all the “Duke” is really trying to say is that you don’t have the jump in the Twitter pool with both feet. Social media-shy entrepreneurs should feel free to just dip their toes in before they get their “twim” on.

As a matter of fact, the “Duke” says small business owners are the face and voice of the business. So they NEED to project those roles to a virtual space. Here are a few baby steps the “Duke” suggests SBOs should take before the big leap:

Start commenting on blogs. Find a blog you like and start leaving comments using your name.

Try forums. Start out commenting again. When you have a feel for the environment, start a thread.

Now blog. It’s not such a big step now. Create your own domain (preferred) or try a network.

Twitter away. This is big league conversation. Millions of people talking back and forth.

- Danny