It’s finally here, people. Once a year, a tiny magical rodent is summoned from his habitat while the nation waits to see if he prophetically views and fears his shadow, determining meteorologically the duration of the world’s coldest season. Or, more accurately, a local pet is yanked out of his cage by a man in a top hat and presented to a town in Western Pennsylvania, then assigned an attitude toward something he could never comprehend to fictionally estimate the length of the remainder of winter.

That’s right: It’s Groundhog Day, most famous for its centrality in the Bill Murray movie of the same name. In that flick, a pompous, arrogant journalist learns the errors of his ways after he is forced to relive the same day over and over until he gets it “right”. Practice apparently makes “perfect”, even when it comes to being a decent human being.

The same might be said of your social media campaign. Repetition is a central theme of any marketing campaign, including the more traditional TV and radio advertisements (those relics of the past). One tactic to hammering home a message with your audience has been to repeat the important concepts until they are engrained in the brain of the consumer.

Not so with social media. You’re probably using your platforms to push your services, but you have to be careful not to alienate your audience by repeating the same thing over… and over… and over again. It junks up their news feed.

The whole point of social media (and the internet as a medium) is to interact with your customers rather than badger them. If they like you, they’ll move toward buying from you. And that’s really the whole point, right?

So change it up. No matter what platform you are using, vary your messages by structure, style and theme. Use a combination of polls, questions, proverbial statements, links, explanations and descriptions to create an interactive mix that encourages your audience to interact with you, visit your site and (hopefully) buy your stuff.

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When you’re dancing, timing is everything. If you’re out of step by even a second, you might wind up stepping on your date’s toes, or yanking your partner across the room, or just falling flat on your face.

The same thing can be said of social media, except instead of embarrassing yourself in front of the masses, you wind up sentenced to an unseen, unheard of place in the oblivion of the blogosphere. The point of social media is to improve audience interaction and promote your name. Remaining unseen and unheard is a death knell for your efforts.

To that end, the best way to be seen is to dance in step. Pop Labs knows that different networks must be synchronized and coordinated in both timing and movement to make sense and gain the attention of the masses.

Here are five ways to make your social media dance in step.

#1 TIMING IS EVERYTHING
Well, maybe not everything, but a heckuva lot. There’s a whole large-scale discussion of when is the best time to post information, with opinions ranging widely from one social media guru to the next. What we may soon discover is that timing varies by type of post update, not only according to the macro (what network you are on) but micro as well (what type of post you are putting together). Whatever your strategy is, make sure not to post haphazardly with lump sums. Use scheduled posts when it makes sense, but don’t fear innovation or the possibilities brought on by more sporadic communication.

#2 DIFFERENT STEPS FOR DIFFERENT STYLES
One of the fastest ways to show the world your ignorance of social media is to misplace a message post. Hash tags (#theylooklikethis) are meant for Twitter and should be avoided on Facebook. Generally speaking, polls are geared toward Facebook. Put the right post in the right place or it will stand out like break-dancing at a ballet recital.

#3 THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT
Your posts should look the way they’re supposed to. When you misspell something, take it down and repost it. Actually, forget that. Try not to misspell things in the first place. It’s unprofessional. You wouldn’t send an advertisement to print with a typo. Your social media networks are no different.
A misspelled word on a post is like a botched version of the Macarena. U-G-L-Y.
At the same time, different networks have different space requirements and allowances. The 140-character requirement over at Twitter means some short hand is allowable. Facebook only shows a certain amount of a post, so there might be room to shorten your words there, too. Google+ shows everything, so spell out every word.

#4 SHARING IS CARING
Make sure your blog posts have all of the relevant share buttons and put them in an easy, eye-appealing location and in a click-friendly shape. You want people to share your posts on all networks. In fact, you can do a bit of this yourself by cross-posting or using post scheduling programs.

#5 EMBEDDED AND IN SYNC
YouTube actually allows you to embed videos in Facebook. Whenever you see the opportunity to actually marry and integrate two platforms in a friendly, clickable way, go for it. Make everything easy for the average web follower.

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#1: Different Networks have Different Functions
American Architect Louis Sullivan once said that “form follows function”, a rule used by architects and designers throughout the entire twentieth and still-young twenty-first centuries. Social networks follow the same rule. Different networks have different forms which creates different functions. Facebook allows for comprehensive lifestyle tracking, but it’s not so good for privacy. Twitter is great at tracking conversational trends, but leaves much to be desired in terms of following actual conversation or gathering in one place. Google+ is still in its infancy (or perhaps toddler phase), but its clearest distinction is circles, an aspect that allows users to (theoretically) share specialized information with specialized groups. Foursquare has little to no conversation, instead choosing to focus on physical location.

Because of these differentiations, each individual network has different users who join for different purposes. Followers follow form which follows function. By integrating platforms, you keep all of your followers satisfied.

#2: Search Upgrade
Google has begun using Google+ in its search results, a major advantage for smaller businesses. YouTube also has a strong effect on search outcome. With the right keywords, LinkedIn is a great tool for putting your name on the front page of relevant search results. Leveraging those results still takes some social media know-how, but key here is that social media knowledge is a great way to improve your online search presence.

One of the keys to elevating your group has to do with cross-linking your sites. Failing to integrate social media sites with one another means missing out on a key opportunity to create a traffic whirlwind from the content and conversations you post. External links are one of the deciding factors when it comes to general search, so make sure your social media sites includes one another’s external links.

#3: Blog KABOOM!
Your blog is a tool used to show expertise in the field, draw in readers, increase interaction and (eventually) drive exposure/sales. If you create killer content and optimize it for search, you’ve won half the battle.

But the key drivers of digital conversation are social networks. To that end, you want your blog post to spread to a variety of internet corners. Managing networks independently means five times the work for equivalent results. If your social networks feeds are integrated, disseminating your blog posts is simple. One post will take your ultra-important message to center stage and encourage the wired-in crowd from all corners of the digital atmosphere to read, discuss and respond to your ideas.

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