You don’t have to be a Twitter star to maximize social media’s advantages in the interest of your business. And you don’t have to spend all of your waking hours doing it. You just need to focus on the following, key steps which enable a little bit of social media tending to go a long way toward building your brand and thought leadership presence:

Keep it active – and current. As potential customers, venture capitalists, reporters and analysts vet companies via social media, you want your pages filled with useful, up-to-date information. Even the simple posting of an interesting, industry-related story helps. It tells followers that your company keeps its social media content up-to-date on important trends.

Practice the “411” rule. This means “4” educational and entertaining posts for every “1” soft promotion and every “1” hard promotion. People go on social media primarily to learn things and amuse themselves. If you incessantly try to sell to them, they’ll go elsewhere. So ask yourself these questions before you post: What did YOU find interesting today? What’s going on in the industry that people should know about? Did your business recently do something awesome? If so, post away. And don’t shy away from videos, infographics or pictures. The easier posts are to digest, the more interaction you’ll inspire.

Cultivate a community. Yes, through social media, you can create your own thriving community. Like any community, it’s strengthened when members commit to helping each other. When you shovel snow off your neighbor’s driveway, after all, that neighbor is more likely to return the favor. So respond when followers ask for advice about a business issue. Find insightful articles which will further address their pain points, while tagging the publication. Utilize predetermined hash tags at conferences or events to incorporate thoughts or observations from the scene into the daily conversation.

Rally the troops. You should never go solo here. Get your co-workers involved by assigning social media roles built around product launches, conferences, holidays, cultural events, etc. Involving the team in content on social media helps keep the creative juices flowing, and gives everyone a piece of ownership.

Social media will likely never serve as the cornerstone of your business. But contributing to the conversation will enhance your overall online presence and brand recognition. That way, when customers, reporters, analysts and other followers are looking for the best “411,” they’ll know they can find it on your pages.