Without question, the world of work today runs on social media in some shape or form. It has changed the nature of work, play, friendship, commerce, romance — the list goes on and on.

毫无疑问，今天的职业界以某种形式运作在社交媒体之上。社交媒体已经改变了许多事物的性质，其中包括工作、玩乐、友谊、商务、爱情——这张列表还可以不断的延伸下去。

For leaders, social media is an extraordinary tool. It enables new levels of communication and community. It establishes an immediate connection between a leader and people. It runs in real time. And it creates a dialogue and a forum that can lead to increased productivity, unity, and profits.

社交媒体对于领导者们而言是一个非同寻常的工具。它将我们的沟通和社会引领到了一个新层次，在领导者和民众之间架起了直接沟通的桥梁，令我们可以实时沟通，还创建了能够促进生产力、团结和利润的对话和论坛。

And yet an astonishing 70-80 percent of leaders aren’t even on social media. That’s like playing tennis with one arm tied behind your back: it puts you at distinct disadvantage (understatement). And too many leaders who are on social media pay it lip service, and use only a fraction of its potential.

然而出人意料的是，依然有七到八成的领导者至今不使用社交媒体。这就好像是把一只手绑在背后来打网球：它会让你处于明显的劣势(这还算是程度比较轻的说法)。而就算是在使用社交媒体的领导者中，也有很大一部只是敷衍应对，而且只用到了它潜力中的一小部分。

The good news is that with a little practice everyone can master this exciting new discipline. Here are 7 ideas to get you going.

好在，只需要一点点的练习，每个人都可以掌握这个令人兴奋的新学科。以下是你需要进行的几个步骤。

1) Be Yourself

1)做你自己。

You can’t create a social media persona that isn’t true to you. It will simply be impossible to sustain, and it won’t feel genuine to your colleagues and employees. So find a voice that is comfortable, honest, and true. Be open and transparent. Be yourself, but be your best self. Remember: humor is a priceless tool.

你不能创造出一个与你本人相背离的社交媒体角色。这个虚假的形象完全不可能维持下去，而你的同事们和员工们也会感到你的虚伪。因此要找到一个舒适、诚实以及真实的表达方式。做到公开和透明。做你自己，但是要做你最好的自己。别忘了：幽默是一个无价的工具。

2) Stay On Message.

2)保持要旨。

You can’t be all things to all people, and you don’t want to dilute your overarching message by going on tangents that you cannot put your heart behind. People need to know that when they read your posts, they will be getting something of value that will educate, inspire or energize them.

你不能满足所有人的所有需求，并且你也不想通过把时间花在自己并没有共鸣而且离题万里的信息中来削弱自己最首要的消息。人们需要知道当他们在阅读你的帖子时能够得到一些有价值的信息，那些信息将会教育、启示或者激励他们。

3) Put Quality Over Quantity.

3)将质量放在数量之前。

We all have social media favs whose posts we just can’t wait to read, because we know we’ll learn something. Then are those who post about what they had for lunch. Make sure every post is worthwhile. Don’t worry about not posting for a couple of days, better a short break than a ceaseless stream of ho-hum “I’m so great” posts.

我们都会在社交媒体上关注一些人，那些人所发布的帖子会让我们迫不及待的去阅读，因为我们知道自己会从中学到一些东西。此外也有些人上传的是自己的午饭时吃了些什么。确保每一篇帖子都是值得发布的。不要担心几天不更新帖子，暂时中断几天要比不断地发布枯燥无味的 “我多么伟大”的帖子好得多。

4) Start A Real Dialogue.

4)开展真正的对话。

There are few things more exciting than a social media site that really engages employees in a forum that sparks insights and ideas. One thought leads to another and soon everyone is contributing and a sense of ownership takes hold. Encourage this outcome by asking questions, and soliciting ideas and input from the community.

有些社交媒体网站能够真正的吸引论坛中的用户激发见解和想法，很少有比这些社交媒体网站更激动人心的事物了。一个想法引出另一个想法，很快每个人都会开始交流自己的观点，并且开始确立主人翁的意识。通过提出问题，并且征求来自社会各界的观点和意见来促进这个结果。

5) Invest In Your Site/Social Media Presence.

5)在你的网站/社交媒体的形象上加以投入。

We’ve all seen tired looking sites, or sites that are slow and cumbersome to navigate or are not mobile friendly. They’re workplace culture killers. We all love speed and ease these days, and sites that are clean, uncluttered and operate smoothly are much more apt to engage users.

我们都见过看上去死气沉沉的网站，还有那些操作缓慢而繁琐，或者在移动设备上难以阅览的网站。它们是职场的文化杀手。我们这个年代都喜欢速度和轻松，而那些干净整洁并且运行顺畅的网站更容易吸引用户。

6) Think Before You Post.

6)发帖前先三思。

Know what you’re trying to accomplish. Vet your post for anything that is poorly written, or might be confusing or offensive. Like all powerful tools, social media can go very wrong. Be spontaneous, open and reactive, but always needed to be checked before posted.

理清你想要实现的是什么。在自己的帖子中审核出所有写得不够完善，或者可能会令人困惑亦或是反感的部分。像所有功能强大的工具一样，社交媒体也可能会产生非常负面的效应。做到自然流畅，坦率和活泼，但是发布前始终需要检查。

7) Have Big Fun.

7)自得其乐。

Sounds so trite, doesn’t it? Well, trite or not, the fact is that stellar talent and effective leaders love what they do. The line between work and play blurs for them. They are having a blast and it’s reflected in their success.

听起来纵然陈词滥调，但事实就是如此：才能优异且工作高效的领导者们都热爱自己的工作。对他们而言，工作和娱乐之间并没有清晰的界线。他们自得其乐，而这也反映在了他们所取得的成功中。

Remember: social media is not some amorphous behemoth, although it can seem that way to those uncomfortable or unfamiliar with it. Think of social media not as something you have to conquer, but as your partner and ally in the quest for breakthrough performance.

记住，社交媒体并不是什么捉摸不定的庞然大物，虽然那些对它感到不自在或不熟悉的人也许是这么看的。不要把社交媒体看作是你必须征服的东西——把它看作你在寻求突破性业绩时的合作伙伴和盟友。