You understand that getting involved in social media is something you need to do. As a marketing or communications professional, you already understand the inherent value in giving your customers a clearer voice and connecting with the people who want to know your brand better. And that also means going into your boss's office and initiating The Talk.

If your one of the fortunate ones whose company culture embraces transparency and honest communication, you're a step ahead of the game. But if you're starting from scratch, just where do you start?

1) Lose the Jargon

The term "social media" is intimidating to many who haven't spent any time here. Words like blogging, Twitter, Facebook, community, and social networking can still put quizzical looks on executives' faces.

So when making your case, skip the social media buzzwords and focus on explaining social media tools in terms of what they actually do.Take blogging, for instance. How about describing it as a collection of discussions on your website that allow your readers to comment and respond? Or talk about microblogging platforms like Twitter as an online customer service mechanism.

2) Take it Out of the Marketing Silo.

A truly effective social media plan touches nearly every aspect of a business. It's not limited to communications (though these pros are often the sherpas of a social media program). And a big fear among companies adopting their first social media programs is that they're going to have to reinvent wheel, start over, or turn their current practices inside out.

In reality, social media can enhance and expand your existing business functions, making them more effective.

Point out the benefits that can be realized in improved and more efficient customer service (like Comcast on Twitter). Illustrate how you might gather product insights and improvements for your production group (like Dell did with IdeaStorm). Explain how more dynamic and visible internal communication can lift employee morale (like Best Buy's Blue Shirt Nation).

3) Listen and Benchmark.

Spend 30 days using and setting up listening posts. Set up Google Alerts and run Twitter Search queries for your company, relevant business and industry keywords, and the same for your competitors.

Map out your results, including quantitative (number of mentions) and qualitative (tone, sentiment, or "meatiness") criteria. If neither your nor your competitors' brands are being talked about online much yet, you can illustrate the opportunity to enter the conversation online and lead your industry. If you're being mentioned but your competitors own a larger share of the conversation, time to look at leveling the playing field. And if you're in the fortunate position to have great presence online, focus on how to maintain and grow that in the future.

4) Articulate your goals.

There's absolutely no way you can measure your success unless you set the goal first. Spend time to understand what you want out of social media (and never just jump into it because "everyone else is"). Do you want to increase subscribers to your company newsletter? Improve customer retention or referrals? Decrease negative customer service feedback? Think overall strategies, not tactics, and map each goal to your social media strategy.

5) Steward the culture, not just the operations.

Social media is as much a cultural shift for some companies as it is a procedural one. In addition to adding and evolving business functions, you're asking your business to look at their customer communications through a new lens.

As the champion for social media, understand the adjustments you're asking your colleagues to make in their individual roles within the company. Realize that moving from controlled messaging to transparent communication is a difficult and scary move for companies who may have been doing things the "old fashioned way" for years. Internally processes may have to change or be discussed in detail before the real social media work can begin. Be patient, reassuring, and stay focused on the ultimate goals.

6) Demonstrate that it works.

Case studies, case studies, case studies. There are some amazing resources on the web all about companies doing social media, and doing it well. For example, Peter Kim has a great big list of companies and their efforts to participate in this space. Check out Delicious.com for bookmarks that others have shared on the topic. And a good old fashioned Google search on "social media case studies" will unearth enough to keep you busy for days.

Successful social media is methodical while finding its roots in passion and genuine interest in opening new avenues for communication with your customers. By focusing on the overall value and benefit that it brings to your business, you'll be able to not only communicate social media's importance, but encourage others to join you and discover its potential.