Editor's note: This article appeared in the October 25, 2010, edition of Quirk's e-newsletter.

You can't swing a dead cat in the research industry without hitting talk of social media. It's been the focus of articles, white papers, online discussions, conference/seminar tracks and it's likely here to stay. The research industry has a unique opportunity to stretch social networking efforts beyond creating Facebook fan pages and Twitter accounts to creating online communities filled with brand-lovers and potential respondents.

However, cultivating a successful, research-relevant social network is no small undertaking and requires a dedicated staff, a drive to keep network members coming back for more and a carefully-tailored plan of action. So while there is no surefire method for creating a social network or online community, there are certain behaviors and mentalities that should be avoided across the board. 

Half the battle is knowing which mistakes not to make, according to Social Nation: How to Harness the Power of Social Media to Attract Customers, Motivate Employees, and Grow Your Business (www.socialnationbook.com), a book by Barry Libert, chairman and CEO of Mzinga, a Waltham, Mass., software company. The following are 10 social media hangups and tips on how to avoid them:

Pitfall No. 1: Running a Social Nation like a traditional business. If you want to run a social company, you first need to understand that almost everything you do is a two-way street. That is to say, you're not going to prosper if your products and services are designed solely by folks on the inside. You need to embrace the perspectives and contributions of your employees, as well as those of customers and partners.

Pitfall No. 2: Underinvesting in social initiatives and abandoning them too soon. Understand that a Social Nation is organic - it won't materialize with a proverbial snap of the fingers. Early on, you'll need to invest a good deal of time, thought and money in attracting fans and followers - and your efforts will need to be sustained. Only after you've built a firm foundation will your social network begin to sustain itself through participant contribution and recommendation.

In general, successful strategies include posting quality content that people want to consume, letting customers tell their stories and post their grievances and then responding to their criticisms. Also, make sure that prospects are able to learn about your business through customer and employee testimonials. Lastly, remember that using multiple approaches (i.e., blog, Facebook profile, interactive Web site, etc.) will reach more people.

Pitfall No. 3: Neglecting to find ways to encourage and inspire your Social Nation's followers and fans. When you stop to think about it, you'll realize that your fans and followers are essentially volunteering their time and energy to serve as developers, sounding boards and advertisements for your company. Respect what they have to say and take their input to heart.

Pitfall No. 4: Relying on an if-you-build-it-they-will-come mentality. You don't really think that launching a new Web site and firing off posts at various online networking hot spots will bring fans and followers flocking, do you? Of course not. To some extent - usually a large one - you'll need to purposefully reach out to potential community members and make it worth their while to accept your invitation.

"Rolling out a community and just expecting people to join as friends or followers is a flawed philosophy," says Libert. "Marketing 101 principles still apply. That means you need compelling incentives to have people join your community. You also need an aggressive programming strategy, one that includes defining your key audiences and targeting them through all available channels, to ensure that they know that you want to build a relationship with them."

Pitfall No. 5: Delaying the process of going social. Contrary to what you may wish, your company doesn't have the luxury of waiting until it's convenient to go social. Why? Well, you have competitors, right? And if you don't start gathering loyal followers and fans now, there's a good chance that some other company will woo them first.

One of the best strategies for going social as quickly and effectively as possible is to designate employees and subject matter experts to act as community success managers focused on fostering community growth and member satisfaction. Separate from your sales and support teams, these community leaders should have the ability to advise members of the community on how to best participate with the company and with each other. If you do things well, you'll find that they'll generally serve as internal and external advocates for others in your organization, be it employees, partners or customers.   

Pitfall No. 6: Underestimating the power of a Social Nation. If you believe that social networking is just a window dressing that your company "needs" (but not really), then think again. Social media and community collaboration bring many benefits, including brand-building, customer loyalty and retention, cost reductions, improved productivity and revenue growth.

Pitfall No. 7: Neglecting employees, partners, investors or customers when building your Social Nation. Set up a "focus group" of employees to serve as community leaders who will shepherd your company into the social networking world, but don't put all of the power in their hands. Social Nations are organic organizations, so the more people who are empowered to influence yours, the better.

Pitfall No. 8: Relying on traditional approaches when designing your Social Nation. A decade ago, you probably would have been horrified at the thought of releasing ideas and products into the hands of your customers before they were as complete as you could get them. With social networking, that monolithic approach is now becoming obsolete.

Pitfall No. 9: Developing your own social software and analytics solutions. You wouldn't dream of placing "remodeling the office" or "handling legal issues" in the do-it-yourself category, would you? Not too many would. Instead, you'd hire someone skilled in those areas. Do yourself a favor and use the same strategy when it comes to building your own Social Nation.

Pitfall No. 10: Getting caught without partners to help you succeed. Make sure that you truly treat your community members as partners, not just as fans or numbers. Yes, integrating into the social Web is key to your company's future success, but being connected to the social Web is only a part of what you need to do. Shifting your business strategically, culturally and operationally are also components to the equation.

Essentially, that means creating a community for the people who matter most in making your business thrive - a place that is all theirs and that is connected to your brand. Remember, your constituents want to connect with like-minded peers, and they want to feel as though they are contributing to a purpose that's bigger than themselves.