Social Networking 101

Does social networking really work? This is one of the most hyped areas of online marketing today.

But while many are jumping into the arena, few are actually making money from it.

So it’s not worth it?

Actually it does work but only when you stay focused. Lose your focus and you can end up wasting the entire day browsing Twitter or Facebook without getting any real work done.

What’s the key to profiting with social marketing?

Developing relationships – and one of the best strategies for this is through blogging. This is a very effective way to stay connected with your potential customers. 

How do you make money blogging?

There are 2 rules. Post often and get involved with other people’s blogs. You can’t expect to get interaction on your blog unless you get entrenched in the “blogosphere.” 

In other words, get involved in discussions on other people’s sites. This will help you get to know other bloggers and get your name out there. 

Assuming you give useful answers to people’s questions, you can establish yourself as an authority on the topic you are discussing. This will get them to trust you, then visit your blog and ultimately buy your products. 

And search engines LOVE blogs
 
Why? Because they are constantly getting updated. And I’m not just talking about posts. If you have a highly trafficked site that gets a lot of discussion, the comments add to the relevancy as well.

What about Twitter?

No discussion on social marketing could be complete without this popular site. 

Rule #1) Don’t get carried away with it

View it for what it is — just another method of getting your offer in front of people. It’s not the marketing “utopia” many view it as. In fact for most it’s an enormous waste of time. 

How do you use it effectively?

First I would recommend tweeting at least once a day. Also follow others. Many will reciprocate and follow you back.

Linking to Twitter from your site can help you stay in touch with your prospects, much like having an email list. But make sure you aren’t constantly promoting yourself.  

Obviously you don’t want every tweet to be a product offer. This will just turn people off. Every 5-7 messages you can offer a product but any more and people will just view you as a “spammer.” 

Remember the key to making money from social marketing is to have a plan and stay focused. If you aren’t careful, you can find yourself spending the entire day browsing blogs or Twitter. This can hurt more than help.