Social Media - There Is No "marketing" In "social Networking"
Social media, or social networking, is a widely used but highly misunderstood beast
. Originally started by social networking sites such as Myspace, Facebook, and Youtube, the social media craze has now grown as a result of a massive number of newcomers such as Digg, Twitter, and StumbleUpon. With the introduction of such varying types of social media sites, there are more ways than ever to communicate with friends and followers and to share your interests and stories with others.
Some marketers see social media sites, especially Twitter, as fads which have no practical applications, but this is simply not the case. In an age where people in the online marketing industry are accustomed to being bombarded with pitches, highly interactive environments like Twitter are very appealing because of the social factor. The time is currently ripe to take advantage of social media sites by establishing your presence in a few of these properties if you have not done so already.
Many marketers who use or who want to use social networking sites usually want the following things:
* A loyal follower/friend base which reads and is responsive to each of their updates (i.e. posts, tweets, etc.)
* A large follower/friend base
* To make affiliate sales every time they post or tweet
This is virtually identical to what these same marketers want from their email marketing. They want massive lists of responsive buyers and therefore to make exorbitant amounts of money for every email that they send out.
But that is marketing. It is generally understood that if you join a marketer's list, you will get marketed to. Social networking is about fostering relationships with your fellow marketers through conversations and basing those relationships on mutual benefit. It is curious that so many people forget that social networking is all about socializing and then complain that social networking sites are ineffective for driving traffic or making sales.
Here are a few things to keep in mind to make the most of your social networking:
1.Give people a reason NOT to ignore you. One of your main goals when networking is to provide value to your followers. A pitch will go largely ignored, but helpful tips and quality content are always appreciated. Releasing high quality content and providing tips will not only get you noticed, but respected.
2.Appreciate your friends and followers. Each one of your friends, followers, or readers, made an effort to follow you most likely because they are interested in what you have to say. Helping them out with their business with helpful information is great, but personally reaching out to each and every one of them can make all the difference. By taking the time to say thanks for their readership or any sort of personalized message for that matter, you are starting a potentially very fruitful relationship on the right foot.
3.Don't sell anything. Again, the purpose of social networking is to converse, socialize, and to network. It sounds obvious, and yet, so many marketers ignore it. If you brand yourself as a respected figure in social circles, whether you're an expert or not, the traffic will come.
As you should realize by now, social media is all about relationships. By making yourself someone who is respected and known for the help you give others, you are positioning yourself as an expert and to succeed.
by: Jason James
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