When it comes to gaining, nay, earning friends, fans, and followers on Social Media like Facebook and twitter there is no right strategy, but there are plenty of missteps you can take.

I titled this after Charlie Sheen because he joined twitter as a verified account on the morning of March 1, 2011. He had zero followers. At the time of this posting on March 8, 2011, he has more than 2.3 Million followers and is claiming Guinness* status.

Although I don’t recommend this, if you are following his success, one correct strategy would have you as a human car wreck.

The most important strategy I can give you is to make a commitment to Social Media and stick with it. Keep making posts on Facebook, send at least two tweets a day, and, most importantly, have something to say.

If you are a commitment-phobe – like Mr. Sheen and his former TV character – here are four additional ways to bringing in new followers and fans:

Import Your Contacts: Seems simple but have you done it? Many Social Media users haven’t. Facebook and twitter both have easy tools that link your email lists, the people you email with, and your Outlook contacts to your accounts. You then get to choose the folks you want to follow and friend yourself, and they can choose to do likewise. This way your insurance agent gets your business tweets, but your Aunt Millie doesn’t…or vice-versa. It’s up to you.

Export Your Tweets: There are many tools, including ones in twitter and Facebook themselves that allow you to cross-post between either platform, your blog, or your website. Personally, I do not share all tweets on Facebook, or all posts on twitter. I have a twitter feed on the front page of RocketGroupLLC.com and it allows visitors to get a feel for the topics and tones I am communicating. I do get a decent amount of direct feedback from this integration and have gained new followers from it as well.

Chum The Waters: Many users are using Social Media not only to communicate with their customers but to reward them. Some offer new followers or fans free stuff and some offer coupons for tweeting a message. Just today, Kraft announced a tweet promotion for a free t-shirt if you send a message about macaroni and cheese. Facebook does have some rules about running contests through their portal but, at this time, twitter does not. This is a good way to build customer loyalty if you have enough budget to feed the fish enough chum.

Talk The Talk: While this technique mostly involves twitter, you can engage conversations on Facebook as well. By now you probably know the # is the key to finding things on twitter through search. You should always try to hash-tag at least one keyword in each tweet if you want to find a broader audience. Did you know there are entire communities using the site to engage others in weekly online meetings? Using tools such as TweetChat, I personally know folks running events as diverse as #AgChat, #CookChat, #MomChat, #BlogChat and more. This is one of the best ways to gain twitter followers in topics you are passionate about. These followers may be in your backyard or from across the globe.

Charlie Sheen did it the easy way but you can grow your audience in Social Media without having to import your friends from rehab, export your tweets about “Tiger Blood”, give away self-healing tips, or have #winning in your tweets.

Feel free to ask us about any of the tools or techniques mentioned in this post. I’ll be happy to help you in any way possible.

Thanks for reading!

*World Records not English Ale