Seven Valuable Benefits Social Networks Provide and Social Media Marketers Covet

Today I was asked the most important question encompassing the subject of Social networks and social media marketing. The question I was asked is; What is the value of social media marketing, that is what are the benefits of social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+. Although these social networks are diverse in nature, they have common values both to subscribers and business people alike. That’s right, even though these networks operate in very different ways, their users often have very different motivations, different backgrounds and personal needs. They all provide these seven values to all that use them. Read on and find out why social networks and social media marketing is changing the face of the internet from what we know to what it will become.

Six Clear Reasons why you should be using Social Media to build your Credibility

An Ad agency client asked me the other day to provide them the primary reason why their clients should use Social Media as part of their advertising mix. Specifically they were talking about Facebook, Twitter and Angieslist. The answer to this question is often confusing and misstated. This article provides six concise reasons why Social Media is so important today.  Reading this article will make it easy for the reader to see why Social Media has risen so quickly in advertising circles and it will help them prosper from using it.  Here are a few reasons why they should use Social Media as part of their marketing mix. 

What Does the Public’s Uncontrollable App-etite Mean to You?

Here is a great blog written by my friend and partner Carl Weiss.  He allowed me to post this blog on my site because I asked him if I could share it with you. Read and enjoy, this is really great and informative stuff.

“There’s an app for that.”  How many times have we all heard that phrase during the past couple of years?  Allow me to put it into better perspective for you.  During the last week of 2011, 1.2 billion apps were downloaded, with 242 million apps being downloaded on Christmas day alone.  While that number may seem staggering, it is even more so when one considers that less than 11 billion apps were downloaded in all of 2010.  Add to that the fact that it is predicted that the number of mobile apps offered by companies will increase by a factor of 10 in 2012, and it is clear that the public’s App-etite is clearly uncontrollable.

What the best Social Media site for a Small Business.

A common question I get is; what is the best social media site for me to be on?  Alternatively, they will ask; what social media site will bring me the most internet business?  My answer to this question may surprise you, but here it is.  There is no such thing as "what the best" social media site for a small business. A small business should create a presence all on as many platforms as they have time for.

You need to be everywhere if possible

I tell people they need a presence on all the top platforms. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Google+, etc.... More if they have time to set them up. These connections will all provide back links and traffic to their website which most businesses already have.

Hector the Connectors Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2012

2011 is gone, and 2012 has rolled in without missing a beat. The social media industry is growing in leaps and bounds. I often hear business people say social networking is like the Wild Wild West! So answer this question for me.  Would it be valuable if you knew the future social media trends for 2012? How wonderful would it be to know what trends are in store for the coming year? Could you adequately prepare for this rapidly changing industry? In this article, I provide my 2012 predictions for the evolving trends in the social-networking industry. It's always gratifying when my predictions come true. My predictions are not based on any kind of special powers. They are based on my industry research, what I read and what I see happening every day in my work. My accuracy rate in the social media industry has been about 97 percent.  However, even when I’m wrong it's only because my timeline ended up being longer than I thought it was going to be. I have a knack for spotting social media trends. And this article lists four powerful trends unfolding right now. You can profit from what I say or ignore me, the choice is yours. Either way these trends will unfold as the year progresses.  So read on and heed my advice. Prepare your social media marketing campaigns to take advantage these trends for 2012 and beyond.

The buzz you need to know about Google +

Image via CrunchBaseThere is a lot of hype on the internet, and every product launch brings its advocates and critic’s.  The launch of Google+ is no exception, (read as Google plus).  I am a huge advocate of social media and online networking. When a giant internet player like Google says, they are launching a social media platform, my ears perk up, and I pay attention.  This article provides a quick synopsis of what Google+ brings to the table.  It will show what is different about Google+ verses the current leader Face Book.  It will also give you an overview of some of the cool features that only Google+ provides.

The battle of Social media giants

First, Google+ is new, and new services from a giant internet player like Google are always news and always require some level of attention.  Google is a powerful rival of Face Book, and this new entry will be a direct competitor to Face Book and the other social network contenders.  Face Book is currently more than three times the size of it’s next competitor.  In my opinion, competition is healthy for any industry.  Google+ has the real potential to compete in the social network arena.  Google is one of the world’s largest corporations, and they change the rules of any sand box they chose to play in.

Image by @superamit via Flickr 

Don’t get me wrong, I like using Face Book, LinkedIn and even Twitter.  I joined these social media networks early on when they were at the beginning stages of widespread distribution.  I wanted to see if they could rival the face-to-face networking I had been engaged in for many years.

On the other hand, it has been my experience that when companies mature and reach high profitability, they stumble.  They enter a period of naive thinking that lends itself to a culture of arrogance, and the belief that they can do no wrong.  Face Book has been  implementing many changes to their network over the last six months without consulting their subscribers. These changes have angered a lot of it members.

Image via WikipediaHaving said this, Face Book is still on top.  Any current disillusionment that has surfaced  hasn’t slowed the rush of people who continue to join Face Book in record numbers. In fact, I recently read that they had reached the 750 million-subscriber mark this year.  That’s up about 250 million subscribers in about a year and a half (depending on whose numbers you believe).  I am only bringing this up because member disillusionment may be the kink in Face Books armor.  This discontent may give Google+ the chance to make inroads into social networks market place.  Something that Google has not been able to do in the past.

Why Google+

Whether Face Book is showing weakness or not, here are several reasons why Google+ will make inroads this time around, (even if it’s only taking market share from other networks).  First, they have made Google+ very easy to join and use.  If you are a Gmail subscriber, it’s a matter of a few clicks and filling in your basic profile info.  You are not required to fill out your complete profile. This process only takes a few minutes to complete, (especially if you are cutting and pasting from face book).

Gmail Subscribers Welcome.

Image via CrunchBaseIf you’re a Gmail subscriber, some of your contacts will automatically be  imported for you, and you don’t have to have any technical knowledge of CVS files or data exporting.  Some of names in your contact list will automatically show up and begin the process of creating your circles of influence.  You will simply drag and drop people from your list into predefined circles or create circles of your own.

Circles, Circles Everywhere.

Speaking of circles, one of the coolest features of Google+ is their circles grouping feature.  It seems much more intuitive and easier to use than the one provided currently by Face Books.  This interface allows you to organize your contacts into groups that appear as circles, literally.  There are a few predetermine groups, but you can customize them all you want and people can belong to as many different circles as you desire.

Image by Magnet 4 Marketing dot Net via FlickrCircles also allow you to filter your news feed  (called the stream in Google+) so that your circle selection becomes your stream feed control. In other words, the circle you select can determine whose post your watching. It can limit your view of which posts  are streamed into view.  Changing your view is easy and intuitive. Some of the clean simplicity that Google+ demonstrates is by design.  Some of its clean and uncluttered look is because Google+ is new, and it is unencumbered with all the trappings that come with a mature social media site.  Either way, I appreciate the clean, easy to use, and fun interface Google+ has to offer.

Do you like to Hangout?

Image by colmmcsky via FlickrSpeaking of other fun features, Google+ has two worth mentioning.  The first is Hangouts.  Google+ provides a video Chat room for groups of people.  You can video chat, share You Tube videos, invite others and have a real online video conversation with several people. This is a face to face conversation. You need a video camera and microphone attached to your computer to use this service effectively. I believe this will be a standard feature on most if not all computers. Most laptops and tables computers come with this as a standard item so that the user can engage in video chat. This is a cool feature which I am sure it will get lots of use.  I believe the maximum number of people that a Hangout session will hold is probably limited by your screen size and the speed of your internet connection.  I believe between six to nine people will probably work well.  After that, it will probably seem crowded.  I suggest you check this feature out and start thinking of all the cool ways you could use this service.

Did you say you wanted acclaimed games?

Another feature that I genuinely like is the games Google+ includes.  Unlike the games used with Face Book, Google+ has a game's menu built in.  The variety of games they offer is extensive.  It includes 18 games like Anger Bird,  Bejeweled Blitz, City Ville, Diamond Dash, Dragons of Atlantic, Crime City, Sudoku Puzzles, City of Wonder and Zynga Poker just to name a few.  All of these games are designed to be shared socially.  Even Angry Birds, let you share your score so you can play against your friends.

Image by quickonlinetips via FlickrSo there you have it, a quick overview of the buzz surrounding Google+ and how it compares to Face Book.  Google+ is still extremely new, and it currently does not offer the number of subscribers, features and maturity that Face Book or LinkedIn offers. Having said that, Google+ is extremely user friendly, easy to navigate and provides several new, innovative features’.  Features like circles, hangouts and the integrated games provide a high cool factor for most users.  Add to this all the other Google applications and

properties you have access to, (Google is prodigious), and you have the beginnings of a social media contender.  It may not be a Face Book or LinkedIn killer yet, but its innovative approach and connections to Google’s vast library of applications and internet properties will help it to receive rapid adoption and meteoric growth. If you would like to see a video about this subject click here.

That’s my Opinion, what’s yours?

Hector Cisneros has been an entrepreneur for 25 years, a veteran of BNI for 18 years and was a BNI director for over five years. He is still an active BNI member and follows the philosophy of Givers Gain. He is the owner of several businesses in Jacksonville, Florida. He actively coaches business owners in the fine art of Internet advertising, Networking and Word of Mouth marketing. He is the president of Website Know How, Inc. A holding company for his business ventures that include online advertising, word of mouth marketing, real estate holdings, health and wellness product sales, consulting for non profits and Adventure sports.  To learn more about Social Media, Internet Advertising and Word of Mouth Marketing visit the Networkers Apprentice workshop http://www.networkersapprentice.com or http://www.60secondstosuccess.com

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Three Internet Marketing Techniques That Use Leverage To Produce Great Results

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeWe all know that internet marketing is vital for the sale of many types of products and services. It is also very important for the growth of many businesses. We live in a society that is seeing rapid change with completely new market segments cropping up in what seems like over night. As a consultant and small businesses owner, I need to keep up with these rapid changes. A marketing, management and learning principle I have always adhered to for staying ahead of the game is leverage. The principle of leverage allows you to do something once and then repeated it several times without having to add more energy. In essence, it allows you to do more with less effort. This article will discuss how to use the principle of leverage on the internet and in social media. Although there are numerous ways to use leverage for internet and social media marketing, this article will focus on three examples that any business can implement. Although this article will only provide three examples, it will become a nice down payment for understanding and using leverage to get results from your social media marketing.

Leveraging Technique #1 Link Your Networks

Image via WikipediaUse the linking applications built into most social networks. These applications are usually free and are often included in the setting section of social networks like LinkedIn, Twitter, Face Book, MySpace, Google + and others. These applications let you automatically share the same post on multiple networks without you having to retype anything. These applications are free and usually have the approval of the social media host providers. They also work even when you are posting via your smart phone, table or web browser. Enter your post once and it is share to multiple social networks.

Leveraging Technique #2 Use Aggregator Software

Another way to achieve leverage is to use third-party aggregator programs that are not directly connect to the social media networks. These applications allow you to post to several networks simultaneously just like the "built-in apps" but the also allow you schedule your post at some future time. Another important feature of aggregator programs is that "you can pick and chose" which social networks sites receive your posts at the time you make your entries. The "build-in apps" generally don't allow changes after the fact. It's an all or none type post. Again, this allows you to leverage your communications, your work and your time. You can actually enter two dozen post today that are scheduled to be released over the next three or four weeks. Two good examples of these are Tweet Deck and Hoot Suite. Both are available as free downloads of as commercial applications.

Leveraging Technique #3 Make it Easy for People to Find You

Any time you're in the public eye, make sure these potential customers can connect with you. If you're posting information, make sure you include some kind of contact information. It can be your phone number, business address, your web URL, or email address. Email and URLs are easiest to remember so I often include these. Now this is not appropriate for all social network sites posts. For example, both Face Book and LinkedIn users would frown if you posted your contact info with every message. They already have your contact information as part of your profile and it is not necessary since your connection is automatic.

Having said that, all your email communications, business cards, brochures etc... should include your contact information. All your printed ads should include references to your social network URLs, website and more. In other words, all your regular advertising should invite people to connect with you through whatever means they like.

I use Twitter quite a bit. It definitely lends itself to including URLs in every message. Your web address can be used as a mere link, or as a push link with an added enticement. The point I am making here is this. Always make it easy for people to find and connect with you, the way they prefer to communicate. The more way a person can find you, the higher they likely hood they will.

There you have it, an introduction on how to use leverage in social networks. These three techniques are just the tip of the iceberg when compared to all the different leveraging techniques you can implement today. The sole purpose of using leverage is to do more work in less time and these three techniques deliver by multiplying your message and amplifying your work it in a viral way. By doing so you give up the countless hours of late night posting and prodding of tweets and comments that so many entrepreneur complain about and trade them in for a good nights sleep while your marketing leverage works for you.

That's my opinion. I welcome yours.

Image via WikipediaHector Cisneros has been an entrepreneur for 25 year, a veteran of BNI for 18 years, and was a BNI director for over 5 years. He is still an active BNI member and follows the philosophy of Givers Gain. He is the owner of several Businesses in Jacksonville, Florida. He actively coaches business owners in the fine art of internet advertising, Networking and Word of Mouth marketing. He is the president of Website Know How, Inc. a holding company for his business ventures that include online advertising, word of mouth marketing, real estate holdings, books sales, health and wellness product sales and Adventure sports. He is also a partner in a new company called Successful Campaigns LLC. That provides training and support for non profits organizations. To learn more about Social Media Marketing, Internet Advertising and Word of Mouth Marketing explore The Networkers Apprentice workshop or visit us at http://www.Websiteknowhow.com or http://www.60secondstosuccess.com. Friend us on Face book by clicking here.

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How to win friends and influence people in the 21 century

Image by Cristiano Betta via FlickrEvery business I know love referrals. In fact, they all say that word of mouth is the best type of advertising you can get. Wouldn't it be great if you could produce that kind of word of mouth advertising on a regular and consistent basis? You bet it would be. What would you do if I could show you a formula that will produce, recommendations, referrals and testimonials 95 percent of the times it's used. Does that sound interesting? Well here's how to create recommendations, testimonials and referral on a regular basis without lying, cheating, or having to give away the farm. Read on and learn "how you to win friends and influence people in the 21st century.

Discovering the Magic Formula

Image by mvellandi via Flickr

As a businessperson, and 25-year veteran of word of mouth marketing, I live and breathe the concept of "Givers Gain". That's right, I believe what goes around comes around. This principle is also known as the law of reciprocity. This principle is the magic that makes my formula work. When I say my formula, I am really referring to the use of this principle. Every chance I get, I go out of my way to provide, you guessed it, recommendations, referrals and testimonials to as many like-minded business people as I can.

It wasn't but a few years ago that most of my testimonials were in the form of letters, emails, verbal recommendations, thank you cards and short blurbs on business website. I even occasionally rated products reviews so that others could see how I felt about those products.

However, in the last three years I have discovered that using social media is like magic for helping others. The converse of that is also true. It is also magic when the law of reciprocity works in kind for you.

Were to use the Magic Formula

Image via Wikipedia

Most social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Ecademy and Foursquare offer some kind of mechanism for you to easily thank your fellow referral partners. There are literally hundreds of social media venues available to you. If the person you're looking to help uses Merchant Circle or Angies List, make sure you post your recommendation there.

I don't limit my recommendations to just my referral partners. I also go out of my way to recommend and thank, business associates, clients, family members and the companies I like using. Most social media sites have a mechanism for you to do this, without you having to jump through lots of hoops.

For example, in Face book you can just post a thank you, a recommendation or even a testimonial. You can upload a picture of you letter of recommendation. Provide a link to a testimonial letter etc... You can also do this for a business Fan Page, as well.

In Twitter, you can just Tweet your recommendation. You can re-tweet someone's post as a way to thank them. It's also easy to include a link to your testimonial letter or to their website in your tweet. You can also tweet about how great a referral was, all without breaking a sweat.

Image by sitmonkeysupreme via FlickrFoursquare is almost made for recommendations. However, I sometimes see it used as a double edge sword where people dining out do the opposite of recommending the restaurant or it's food. Here, a second principle is at working. The principle I am referring to is the law that states that bad news travels much faster than good news. Bad news use to travel fast. With the advent of the internet, it now travels at the speed of light! Anyway, I digress, back to Givers Gain.

Ecademy, LinkedIn and some others social media sites actually have a recommendation function built-in them. I use LinkedIn quite a bit. It's built-in recommendation function is designed like a reciprocating tool. When you recommend someone, it in turns ask your recipient, if they will return the favor and recommend you.

Increasing the Magic Formulas Effectiveness

Image by Cristiano Betta via FlickrMy recommendations and testimonials are usually specific, providing examples of why I am making my recommendations. The same is true when providing a testimonial or when provide a referral. I always mention specific reason why I am recommending that person or business. Being specific carries more weight for the reader than being general. This is because general recommendations don’t risk any ones reputation. They don’t really say any thing about you as a person.

I also don't qualify or limited my recommendations. I either endorse them fully or not at all. Obviously, you cannot recommend everyone equally nor should you try. Strive to be honest, positive, specific and unequivocal in your recommendation. Finish by providing your contact information if you feel strongly about the value they provided. This sends a very clear "Thanks you" message to your recipient and it makes your gift even more powerful. If you really can't recommend someone, be honest and share with them your reservations. Don't compromise your integrity but also don't try to insult someone who ask for your help. Find a way to help them to fix their issue, so you can then recommend them.

A few last notes on providing testimonials, recommendations and referrals

Image via WikipediaMake sure your writing is proof read several times and that the spelling and grammar are clean and professional. Nothing dilutes your gift more than bad spelling or grammar. Last but not least, make sure their names are spelled correctly. This kind of mistake will all but make your recommendation null and void, (ask me how I know).

I have been using the law of reciprocity to help others for a long time now. In turn, this principle has provided me with more recommendation, testimonials and referral than I though possible. I now know that the law of reciprocity is alive and well in the 21 century and that you should use it as part of your formula for success. As a businessperson, it makes sense to follow business principles. Following this principle will increase the number of recommendations, referrals and testimonials you receive and it will help you grow your business.

That's my opinion, what's your.

Hector Cisneros is an entrepreneur with over 25-year experience. He is a 18-year veteran of BNI, and was BNI Director for six years. He is a firm believer in the BNI philosophy of "Giver Gain". Currently, he manages three businesses, writes and coach's business people in the art of Word of Mouth, Social Media and internet marketing. He has several intl. published articles covering word of mouth, social media marketing and how to improve your 60-second presentations. His new book "60 Seconds to Success" is aimed at helping business people make great first impressions and make more money through referral and word of mouth marketing campaigns. To learn more about Hector Cisneros, Social Media, Internet Marketing and Word of Mouth Marketing visit http://www.60secondstosuccess.com or the Networkers Apprentice Workshop at http://networkersapprentice.com/ To contact Hector, write him at hecisneros@gmail.com

Success Secret for Social Media Connecting

Would you really like to connect with your friends, family, co-workers even customers? Do you want to avoid your followers un-friending you because you inadvertently broke a secret social media rule? Do you want others to like you and take the time to learn about you or your product? For a business, being "followed" and "liked" is a necessity. With social media the rule is simple; no followers, no business. If you want to stay connect to the world through social media read on and follow these four secrets of successful social media connecting.

Image via Wikipedia

Success Secret #1 Be a giver not a taker.

 If you want people, friends and customers to like you give them a reason to do so. If you find a person with a magnetic personality you will usually find someone who give freely of themselves. They share their knowledge and give away the secrets for their success. People who are givers act like magnets. People follow them because they have something to offer. If you are offering (i.e. posting) useful articles and information, fun and entertaining links, posting personalized photos and connect by replying and engaging your connections, you too will become magnetic.



 Success Secret #2 Be proactive Reach out to others first.

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeIf you want to catch the worm you have to be the early bird. Most importantly, you have to be the proactive bird. Be proactive when connecting with your followers and friends. Don't wait for them to contact you. You be the first to extend a hand. Remember their birthdays if you have it. Send those old photos from school or others events. Send them articles directly without posting it to your site. Proactively make things personal and actively engaging. If you wait for others to connect with you, your results will be poor at best and not very satisfying. This goes doubly for businesses. Thanks your customers for following you, send them discount coupons (or links to some), on their birthday and anniversaries. Be proactive and you have a real chance of making your friends and customers happy they know you.

Success Secret #3 Be positive

Image via WikipediaSocial Media follows' life's rules very well. If you want to attract others, be positive. Nobody likes a social curmudgeon. Don't be telling the world your problems, at least don't air your dirty laundry and gossip on your pages. This will give you the kiss of dead and get you un-liked and un-followed faster than you can say face book. If life has dealt you a bad hand, take this time to figure out a way to turn your problem into a positive experience. Add related causes to your face book page. Start a non-profit fund raiser. Start tweeting about how others solved their problems and connect with like mind individuals in the online community. I'll bet that your search for a positive outlet results in something that turns your attitude around. Being positive never hurt anyone. On the other hand being negative has scared more people away than most natural disasters that have occurred. Be positive and attract followers.

Success Secret #4 Give credit where credit is due.

Image via WikipediaHave you ever done a good job for someone and nobody said anything about it? Not even a thank you! Here is another great place where you can stand out and get noticed. Take time and recognize others. Helping others is easy. If you know someone who did a great job on something, post an Atta boy about that accomplishment. If someone did a great job for you make sure you post a recommendation or better yet a testimonial for them. This is critical if your in business and have strategic partners. Taking care of your partners should be one of your highest priorities. There are dozens of occasions you can congratulate your connections. Wedding, birthdays, graduations, promotions, successful events, vacations, you name it. The list could be endless. Do yourself a big favor and think about all those individuals and businesses that have helped you out when you needed them. Now go to their social media site and let them know how much you appreciate them.

In this article, I have listed 4 of my secrets for successfully connecting with my social media world. I first pointed out the importance of being a giver and not a taker. To be viewed as a giver you must actively provide useful, fun and entertaining material. I also expressed the importance of being proactive. You can't wait for others to come to you. You have to be the person who actively reaches out to connect with them. No one reaches a high level of success by waiting for the right things to happen. Third, I talked about the importance of being positive. It's a fact. Normal folks run from those who act and speak in a negative way. On the other hand, most people are attracted to those who portray a positive outlook. It is said that positive people attack and negative people repel. Be positive and attract followers. The last item I talked about is the importance of giving recognition to others. This is extremely important for businesses that want to be successful with social media marketing. A businesses connection with the outside world is built on taking care of the customer. Making the customer feel good about themselves is a sure fire way to get them to say good things about you. Take every chance you get to reap praises on your followers, especially your strategic partners. Use these secrets wisely. Not following their universal principle will reap massive amounts of bad karma in your direction. Avoid the fall out by following these not so secret rules and grow your following.

That's my opinion I welcome your.

Hector Cisneros is an entrepreneur/businessman with over 25 years experience, is a 17-year veteran of BNI, and was BNI Director for 6 years. Currently he manages 3 businesses, writes and coach's business people in the art of Word of Mouth and internet marketing. He has several intl. published articles covering word of mouth marketing, social media marketing and how to improve your 60-second presentations. His new book "60 Seconds to Success" is aimed at helping business people make great first impressions and make more money through referral and word of mouth marketing. To learn more about Social Media, Internet Marketing and Word of Mouth Marketing visit the Networkers Apprentice workshop at http://networkersapprentice.com/ To contact Hector write him at hecisneros@gmail.com

Related articles

• Success Secret for Social Media Connecting (networkersapprentice.blogspot.com)
• How to win friends and influence people in the 21 century (networkersapprentice.blogspot.com)
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Six Cardinal Rules for Success in Social Media Marketing

Image via CrunchBaseYou've heard everyone talking about how powerful social media is for marketing your business. How if you're not using it to market your business you're is stuck in the 80's. So you go out and create a Face Book page, open a LinkedIn account, start tweeting on twitter, build a Blog and start looking at You Tube. Now what do you do?

You're told by a friend to post snippets about your businesses and create a blog post about things you know, (although you're not sure what a blog is). You start to share information on various sites in the evening and before you know it. Bam, you're spending dozens of hours a week and getting nothing to show for your efforts. You say to yourself, what a pain in the neck social media marketing is!

If you want to avoid the pain of spending too much time posting to social media sites and not getting anything in return, then read on. I will show you a half-dozen cardinal rules you need to abide by to keep your credibility. I will show you how to avoid the most common pit falls beginners make, and I'll help you get the most from the time you spend marketing to your social media sites.

Social Media is not Advertising

Image via WikipediaFirst, remember that social media posts are not advertisements in the typical sense. You need to post what I call the cardinal 4 wanted items! People are looking for useful information. They want interesting facts. Participants want to be entertained and they want to connect with others! Posting information about your product/service should be a rarity. To be successful on social media, you have to give participants what they are looking for. If you want to do conventional advertising on social media sites, use their pay-per-click/view services. Their ads run about $1 to $3 per click through, other wise posts only the cardinal 4 items.

Create and stick to a schedule

Image via WikipediaSecond, set aside a scheduled time to post your information and stick to it. It's all too easy to sit down, start posting your information and before you know it, it's three AM! I schedule my post twice a week and spend an hour each time. During the week, I gather useful information and links from my daily life. These include; email communications, my current events, new and old photos I find, online article I read, RSS feeds I use, internet headlines I like and just surfing the net. I suggest you do the same. Use these as part of posting the cardinal 4 items I spoke of earlier.

Be patient and stick to your growth plan

Third, don't create false expectations for your results. Before your network can produce meaningful traffic, you need it to grow to a reasonable size. Having a total following of a couple of hundred Face Book Fans, contacts on LinkedIn and followers on Twitter is cool but it not a big enough network to produce powerful results. Your social media influences (i.e. power to make things happen), is directly related to the number of members in your network. Social media has a viral quality to it. In this sense, it is a type of word of mouth marketing. Word of mouth depends on your credibility and the size of your network.

Save time by using aggregator software

Forth, you must leverage technology to save time. If you are not using aggregator software for your post, start using one today. Aggregator programs allow you to post to several social media site simultaneously. They also let you schedule post at future dates. These programs can save you lots of time and energy. I personally like Tweet Deck and Hoot suite. Search for them on the web and you will find they are free to use.

How big is big enough

Image via Wikipedia

Fifth, if you are going to build a social network, you must have a goal. It's my experience that real power becomes readily apparent at about 1000 unique followers. I'm not saying that anything smaller is useless. However, real movement, powerful results start with your ability to influence 1000 plus people.

If you concentrate your efforts on building your social network by providing your followers with what they are looking for (i.e. the cardinal 4 items), your network will grow at a slow but steady pace. If you want it to grow faster, provide them with what feeds their needs more often. Post to your network every day if you have time. The more often and regular you post, the better. The only other way to make it grow faster is to either spend more time on growing it or pay someone else to spend more time growing it.

What does this cost

Sixth, you have to set financial limits. I know what you're saying. You're already spending too much time (and money), posting to social media sites. If you still find this to be too time consuming, hire a service to do your posts. They can be had for as little as $100 a week. It can also run you $2000 a month if you're wanting to grow big and fast all at the same time.

If you have, an organized method that you developed, you can hire a college student to enter your post for a lot less. As a marketing expert I can generate anywhere from about eight to twenty new followers per day. You can do the same by following my advice.

Image via WikipediaBy following these six rules you will get a lot more out of your social media marketing efforts. Remember to post the cardinal 4 items regularly. Create and stick to a schedule, even if you don't finish, stop posting when your hour is up. Set goals and limits for time and money your spending. Use aggregator tools to be more efficient and above all be patient. You know the saying. Rome was not built in a day, well that also goes for building your word of mouth social network. That will take some time also. Stick to your plan and before you know it, you will be ready to start harvesting rewards from your social media marketing campaign. That's my opinion, I welcome yours!

Hector Cisneros is an entrepreneur/businessman with over 25 years experience, is a 17-year veteran of BNI, and was BNI Director for 6 years. Currently he manages 3 businesses, writes and coach's business people in the art of Word of Mouth and internet marketing. He has several intl. published articles covering word of mouth marketing, social media marketing and how to improve your 60-second presentations. His new book "60 Seconds to Success" is aimed at helping business people make great first impressions and make more money through referral and word of mouth marketing. To learn more about Social Media, Internet Marketing d Word of Mouth Marketing visit the Networkers Apprentice workshop on a regular basis at http://networkersapprentice.com/ To contact Hector write him at hecisneros@gmail.com