31 October 2008 2 Comments

Social Media Marketing is the flavor of the year. Since the beginning of ‘08, social networking has taken off and provided marketers, affiliates, service providers, and consultants another avenue for getting the word out about themselves and their websites.

With each new day there are thousands of new people, and businesses, wanting to know how they can get their own social networking presence. Some seek out consultants and experts in this area and some decide to try it on their own. Regardless of the direction that you take, there are some ways to make integrating your marketing into social networking that everyone should put into practice.

Set up accounts in the ‘Big Three’

Marketing is all about leveraging your exposure with the return on your investment. In social media the investment isn’t an issue of money, but of time. The question you have to ask yourself is not how much money do you want to spend, but how much time do you want to spend.

In social media circles that means setting up active accounts in what I like to call the ‘Big Three‘. Those being Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Facebook is a social networking site where you can get a lot of exposure by sending, and accepting, friend requests with people within your own topic or industry. There are a lot of options, applications, and ways to stay connected (messages, writing on walls, joining groups, blog networks, etc.).

Twitter is the micro-blog that has completely changed the rules of social networking forever. With Twitter you hold conversations with people through 140 character updates. Not only that, but there is a personal side to Twitter. You get to know people, what they do, what they like, and even what they have for dinner every night. By following people, joining in the conversations with replies and consistent updates, you are building a strong image for yourself and your business. The only way to get started with Twitter is to just jump in and start updating and following.

LinkedIn is an incredible website that I believe (because I am one of them) is very underused. It’s basically a website where you can post who you are and what you do and from there begin interacting with others who are in the same field or need someone of your expertise.

Integrate your marketing into social media by setting up accounts in these three websites. They are all connected and work very well together.

Use A Mix Of Marketing And Personality

If you are looking into social networking for marketing purposes then of course the bottom line is to generate traffic to your website. That doesn’t mean that you flood each of the social websites with a ton of advertisements, group messages, and updates on your newest blog posts. That will get you unfollowed, unfriended, and unconnected in a hurry.

The big attraction of social networking is the social aspect of it. You have people who work at their computers day in and day out with very little outside contact, or at least contact with people who understand what you do for a living, and the social contact is a huge jolt of “I’m not alone!”

Email is one thing, but instant communication is essential on the online world. With email you are expected to send your announcements and ads, but with social media there is a different rule. For example, Facebook has a messaging feature. It’s much like email and you can send a message a few different ways. There is one on one messaging, blast to all friends, and even group messaging. If you were only to contact someone with an impersonal advertising announcement all the time, why would they want to be friends with you? Obviously you’re just taking advantage of the network as another mass broadcast system.

But…. if you were to update regularly with what you’re doing, were sending out personal messages on a one on one basis, actively participating in a few applications, and writing on walls then the occassional advertising messages wouldn’t be so bad. In fact, I might want to see them.

Add a mixture of personality in with the marketing. Be a person not a robot.

Add Relevant Content On A Consistent Basis

Before social media marketing articles were the powerhouse of internet marketing. They still have their place and can bring a tremendous amount of traffic to a website, but the power lies in what the article is all about. Information. Or more to the point… relevant content.

When piecing together your online marketing with social networking it is a big mistake to overlook the power of providing relevant content. Sites like Facebook and Twitter are integral to this and provide great ways to do it.

Facebook

Facebook is probably the most effective way to do this because you can configure it to work with the other social sites and has several great applications for you to add content.

These are just a few of the ways you can use Facebook to provide information. Get started with these and then spend some time searching for others.

Twitter

Twitter is just twitter. You have 140 characters to use. You wouldn’t think that would be enough to add relevant content, but it is. The thing I like is that there isn’t any room for fluff. You say what you have to say and no more. You can provide content to Twitter by;

Relevant content can be done in Twitter.

Are You Integrating Your Marketing Into Social Networking?

If you have been using social media, or are just beginning to think about it, you can get a good start by using these three little tips. Sign up for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Be personable as well as marketable. And provide relevant content on a consistent basis.

If you just do those you will be well on your way to the beginnings of a successful social networking marketing campaign.