Social media is becoming a booming business in all marketing sectors. Social networking sites gained a lot of credibility in the past several years as companies like Canon, Lowes, or Walmart. With actors like Ashton Kutcher, singers like Taylor Swift, and athletes like Lebron James on Twitter. Beomouth news stations like ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN or TBN launching Facebook sites. Televisions personalities like Ellen DeGeneres from the Ellen Show, Jay Leno from the “New” Tonight Show, or Oprah Winfrey from The Oprah Winfrey Show have all joined in on the social media craze. Everyone is finally understanding the importance of participating in this huge medium! They are all using this medium as an important part of their public relation marketing and its working for all of them. They are all using social networking sites to build bigger audiences, increase traffic to their websites and gain even more popularity than ever before, if that is at all possible for the giants of industry and entertainment.
As you can see everyday it is now critical to build your audience with these sites. I personally want to share a few tips to help you understand how to add yourself to this mix, do it the right way and build a level of credibility in who you are and what your “brand” is. Becoming “You, Inc.” will be the biggest factor for your future success and growth. People are inundated with advertising everywhere they look, its a part of life, so to be successful at social media websites, avoid advertising. You want to focus your efforts and help other people get to know YOU and your goal is to create a desire in them to want to interact with you. You can do this by following a few specific guidelines when using Social media websites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or YouTube.
Always target a specific audience of people that may be interested in who you are and what you do for a living. If you a medical professional you probably will not to attempt to connect with people who are into rock, hip-hop or country music and all they want to talk about is music. Use the keyword functions and be specific in your searches for potential friends and followers. A useful tool such as WebCEO.com will direct you to useful or specific forums where you can invite people to follow you on Twitter in your signature file. Take the time to slowly connect with them and bring them into your circle or group of interesting people you are associating with..
Let people know you are a leader, an inspiration, a mentor or a teacher. Even if you are actually not an educator you have specialized skills that may be of value to others. By offering value to your followers and friends by sharing your education, knowledge, and opinions about certain matters, people will gravitate towards your sites, and want to follow you and become loyal to you and continue to see what your all about. Be real. Be authentic. Be yourself. I cannot be more clear on this. Don’t be someone your note. People like honesty first and foremost and this will be a huge asset for you as you build networks of followers. Do not be something you are not. Smile to people. Have fun in your videos. Enjoy the process and the process will become more and more enjoyable and not seem so much like work.
When I write anything on my blog, I always include a lot of links in them. Always try to provide as many links to Hubpages, newsletters, your Twitter page, articles, and videos that you create or are using to promote yourself first, your business second. People will gravitate towards you first, then look to find out more about what makes you tick later…. Your business. By linking to everything you will be able to build a massive spider web of pathways back to you as people search for more information about you over time.
Make sure you have a multitude of ways for people to get a hold of you online. I usually offer many ways to contact me. My blog has forms, phone numbers, email addresses, my twitter account, my Facebook account, and so on to get ahold of me. Put links on your social media sites back to you. If they have a good reason to connect with you, they will. Make a good first impression! Participate in group forums and online discussions that are topic specific to interest you may share with other people with similar interests. Create events that my interest others and invite people to attend them with you. Create newsletters or email blasts or articles just like this. This will result in the eventual growth and viral effect of the intellectual information you are producing thus letting others share your information via Walls, on Facebook, or by using the re tweet feature on Twitter as example.
Did I say have fun! Well let me say it again, Have Fun with this. No one wants to do anything that is drudgery or painful, so you must have fun while using these sites, and meeting new people and making new friends and followers. If you do not have fun using these sites, just don’t do it. Without developing a passion for this you won’t be able to build a massive network of friends and followers that may eventually be converted into customers, and business partners. If you look at people like Tony Robbins, Robert Kiyosaki, or Joel Olsteen on Twitter or Facebook, you will experience their passion. They are rock stars of social media. You can feel everything they feel from there posts.
Part of the fun process is to actually engage into conversations with people and share experiences, knowledge, opinions, information and ideas. This is what others respect the most when online. Over deliver what you offer to others and they will soon become fans of yours. To become a social media rock star you want to offer more than most people do so people want to follow you to the ends of the earth. Social media is about connecting with the right niche, sharing the right message with your respective audience and making sure you can help provide solutions to them and help them solve their problems or concerns they may have in their lives. Social networking is about PEOPLE. Help them to get what they are searching for and you will be rewarded with what you are searching for as well!
Ans don’t forget….. HAVE FUN!
