Social Media Tips- How To Connect In A Meaningful Way
Friday, July 10, 2009 at 12:35PM By: Beth Hellman
Whether you have a traditional offline business or have jumped into the world of online marketing, you've no doubt realized the power of social media to grow your business.
Besides the biggies like Facebook, MySpace, Linked-in and YouTube (oh, and don't forget Twitter), there are hundreds of smaller social media sites targeted to specific niches that are definitely worth seeking out.(Sidebar-Google your target niche. ex.-work at home moms. There's thousands of them)
The same rules apply to the little guys and the big guys. Here's some things to keep in mind.
-When you first join one of the social media sites, get a feel for the "voice" of the community. Check out some of the groups that have formed or read through the forum posts.
Every social site has it's own sense of "community" and you want to remember you're new to the neighborhood. No one invites the neighborhood know-it-all over for a Bar-B-Que and the Welcome Wagon flies right past their door. We know that's not you :-)
-Jump into the conversation and offer as much value as possible-without expecting anything in return. It's that ol' "what goes around, comes around" thing. People are naturally drawn to people who are helpful.
-Keep the self-promotional links to a minimum. Matter of fact, it may be a good idea to not use any at first until you establish yourself in the community. After you'll been involved for a while(I'm talking a few days to a week, not months), then sprinkle in a link to your blog or website (again when it's related to the topic at hand). Giving people valuable resources will establish you as an expert.
-Stay involved. The more conversations you have with folks, the more good information you can offer will only help you in your quest to attract folks to you. Pretty soon you'll be the go-to person for your chosen target market.
All-in-all online social networking is alot like going to networking events in the "real world". You'll find some great free tutorials on getting started with social media over at Renegade University. It will get your internet marketing started off on the right foot.
Treat the Social Media sites like you would Toastmasters or a networking lunch. The great thing about doing it online is that you can network any time of the day or night and "business casual" can be your jammies. How cool is that?
Happy Socializing.
Internet Network Marketer, Renegade Professional Super Guide, Stay-At-Home Mom and Real Estate Agent in Las Vegas for nearly 18 years, Beth Heilman specializes in “Moving Offline Marketers Online”.
Her experience in the offline Real Estate world coupled with the love of all things related to Internet Marketing helps you to create your own dynamic marketing system tailored specifically to your business and your expertise.
Beth’s philosophy is “do what you love, do it for the right reasons and the money will follow”. Following that rule made her a multi-million dollar producer and she wants the same for you. Visit Beth at The HomeBizNetwork.com and HomeBizHearts.com.
