So you’ve gotten your company’s Facebook page up and running (and have the “likes” to prove it), you tweet your heart out, connect on LinkedIn, and even dabble in Pinterest.

You’re no longer a social media novice, that’s for sure. So what’s next? Continue on the trajectory to social media success by stepping up your engagement with the following five tips. You’ll be an expert in no time.

1) Establish the voice of your customer. This comes down to something we talk about often at Tendo: knowing your audience, which means knowing both your present and future customers. Speaking to your customers is important (after all, social media is all about online interaction), but so is listening. Don’t just talk at your customers, hear what they’re saying and engage them the way they want to be engaged.

This may be as simple as speaking to them in the language, voice, and tone they’re used to. (Think about region-specific blogs, for example; make sure to use the appropriate vernacular. Or if you’re managing a C-level forum, keep your tone appropriately professional.) When you understand your audience demographic and tailor your style to engage them best, you’ll creates a sense of familiarity and relatability—something customers are naturally drawn to.

2) Continually offer new content. Even someone with the best intentions can get busy and let that new blog post or LinkedIn discussion fall by the wayside. Keep in mind, though, that posting new content does more than prove your active social engagement—it also keeps your site relevant in search results. But more than that, fresh, relevant content helps influence your future customers who are seeking out information that will improve their decision process.

If all you have is a now-defunct blog with a post from two years ago, your brand isn’t going to seem reliable, nor will you seem like an expert in your industry. Creating new, consistent content proves that you’ve got something to say because you know what you’re talking about. Plus, it shows that you’re both influential and a thought leader.

3) Make use of different social channels. Whether you’re a B2C or B2B company, an SMB or enterprise-level organization, everyone knows the importance of Facebook and Twitter. But social channels don’t stop there. Think of social media as different channels of engagement—how can you use each one to serve a different purpose or audience? For example, knowing that Pinterest is a mostly female community (roughly 80 percent) and that Google+ tends to cater to the 30-and-under male crowd can help you target your content to reach the right audience.

But beyond simply catering to the crowd, you can use different channels of engagement for their more specific purposes. Like LinkedIn to offer tailored industry updates, your company blog to express thought leadership, and YouTube to provide customer testimonials, tutorials, and more. Customers are consuming content all over the Web, on different forums and at all times throughout the day. Make sure you reach them regardless of where they’re looking. Which brings us to…

4) Make sure your content has reach. Whether someone knows your brand or knows your products and services is beside the point. You need to reach them whether they’re looking for your software suite, your specific car, your cloud offering, or blindly entering search terms into Google. New and consistent content creation, as I’ve mentioned, helps keep your site relevant in search engine algorithms.

But more importantly, you need to create opportunities for exposure (for example, through content syndication—reposting and linking on different social channels and through interaction with other influencers) so that even those who’ve never heard of your brand can find your offerings.

5) Develop a blogger relationship strategy. In the B2B world, social media can be a particularly strong influencer for potential buyers. Here’s why: You have independent industry experts as well as internal subject matter experts. When potential buyers begin their decision-making process, they’ll likely encounter content from both types of experts. Now here’s where the strategy comes in: Imagine being able to influence the influencers by having your social media teams and SMEs engage with them.

Start by recruiting and leveraging your internal experts; use your sales staff and product managers to speak candidly about the products or services they know best. Then provide them with the skills to grow their networks and engage with other independent influencers. The result is greater reach, greater reliability (hey, it’s not just you touting your brand), and, ultimately, greater influence. 

Have a social media tip you’d love to share? We’d love to hear it. Let us know in the comments.