Recently some colleagues and I were discussing a client who’s interested in “getting into social media.” While reading Chris Brogan’s eBook, “Fishing Where the Fish Are: Mapping Social Media to the Buying Cycle,” I jotted down some very quick tactical tips and suggestions for this client. It’s something that is relevant to retailers, regardless of what market you specialize in.

1. Do a Google Blog search on your company’s brand, category and industry. Do this on a regular basis, read through the content and subscribe to some Google Alerts on the topics.

2. Do the same search using search.twitter.com. Start by looking for mentions and understanding what is being talked about.

3. Join Facebook. Connect with friends, colleagues, get to know and understand how it works. Look for colleagues from your company and see how they are representing themselves. Are there Facebook groups mentioning your company? Does your company have a page? What about your competitors?

4. Join LinkedIn and set up your profile. Also connect with friends and colleagues. Get to know how the social network works. Understanding social networking is important — as is the ability for customers and business partners to know you exist.

5. Ask around your company and find out who blogs, who is on Facebook, who is on Twitter or who is using other social media tools. You can learn a lot about social media by observing what they see and do in this space. I think you’d be surprised at how many folks in your organization already have a blog, even if it’s a personal one.

6. Start using a RSS reader, like Google Reader. Search for reviews of your products or services. Find five sites where people are talking about them, in forums/discussions, blogs, or other sites. Subscribe to feeds from those sites to start listening.

7. Start using a bookmarking site like Delicious or StumbleUpon. Create a category or tag for blog and press mentions, and start to save/accumulate links about your company and industry. Connect to colleagues with similar interests and see what they find.

8. Find five blogs in a related industry by searching in Technorati, Delicious or another bookmarking service. Read through posts, and comment on them. Be sure to disclose which company you are with if you are promoting or voicing an opinion on a product or service, including a competitor’s.

9. Talk to PR people in your community. Chances are they are wrestling with understanding blogs and the importance of reacting timely to concerns. Let them know you are interested, too, and willing to share a retail expert voice.

10. Understand this is a journey, not a flash in the pan. Social media requires commitment and a lot of listening well before you will be in a position to come up with a case study in the space. Just executing this list will require some time investment.

Adam Cohen is the lead strategist for Rosetta’s Social Media practice (http://rosetta.com) and is recognized as an industry thought leader within the Social Media space. Adam has over 15 years of experience leveraging technology to drive and sustain business value for clients such as Coach, Borders, and Citizens Bank. While at Rosetta Adam founded the Social Media practice and has spoken on behalf of the agency at industry events with partners such as Bazaarvoice and IBM. Adam serves on Forrester Research’s Technology Marketing Executive Council and has been published in AdAge, PharmaVoice and other industry journals. Adam captures thoughts and conversations in his professional blog at http://adamhcohen.com and can be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/adamcohen.