subject: Using Social Media Strategies In Your Online Network Marketing [print this page] Online network marketing is the current course for the network marketing industry, with social media playing a pivotal role. While most people have a basic understanding of Facebook, there are numerous other social tools available for network marketers today. I want to show you how to effectively utilize online social media in the daily activities of your network marketing business.
Social media is content that is created and disseminated through social networks. There are two primary forms of social content being utilized on the internet today. Social interaction sites are built around relational interactions on sites like Facebook, Twitter and Myspace. The other common form is social bookmarking, where users bookmark content of interest for other users to find. Social bookmarking sites include Digg, Reddit and Stumbleupon to name a few. When used correctly, social networking becomes your own public relations engine, creating a platform for you to not only create an identity for yourself, but also brand recognition and name awareness.
Social media is most effective when you become an active participant in the online community. Your first step with any social networking strategy is simply to get involved. On relational networking sites like Facebook, take the time to comment on the posts of other people and talk about your own experiences. Because people are drawn to visual content, pictures and videos can be powerful tools. On sites like Digg and Reddit, comment on peoples bookmarks and give thumbs up or thumbs down recommendations.
Now let me talk strategy and deployment. I will use an online network marketing blog post for illustration purposes. Once the entry is finished, it is posted to Twitter. Twitter then posts the blog entry with a link pointing back to the original blog post. Others on Twitter will retweet the original post if they like the content. This means that they will broadcast the original entry and link to their Twitter following.
Next the entry is submitted to Facebook, again using a link that points back to the original entry. Not only will this blog entry show up on your profile wall, but it will show in the news feed of those with whom you have a friend connection. This strategy can be even more powerful through the use of a fan page. Any post to your fan page will show up on the wall of your page fans, making your post visible to anyone who visits their wall.
The next item of business is getting the blog content socially bookmarked. At the very least an entry should be submitted at minimum to Digg, Reddit and Stumbleupon. These services will categorize the submission by keyword, so that others looking for content on a particular subject will be introduced to your blog content. From there, they can like or dislike the content, comment and share it with others.
The final piece of a powerful social blitz is the creation of a short video promoting the content of your original blog entry. Create a video that is uploaded to your Youtube channel. This video should include a brief summary of the topic and a link back to the original post.
You can make this whole process of social networking online more efficient through the use of automated systems. These would include your blogs RSS feed and the Onlywire submission service. These tools will place place most of your social marketing on autopilot.
By combining online network marketing with a social media strategy, you can create a powerful marketing presence.
