Social media may be the buzz term right now—it will be something else next year. It’s all a synonym for connections and relationships.
I hear from a lot of people that they are on social media sites, but are not sure what to do beyond signing up. Or, they are on them, and say they feel they are connecting, but upon further discussion it’s revealed that they really aren’t.
It’s more than just collecting friends and followers.
People say they have thousands of contacts, friends or followers as if it’s a marketing strategy! It’s a start–but it’s conversations with those connections that lead to results.
For example, I have gotten all of my clients through social media in the past 3 months, had over 100 people register for my last teleseminar, grew my number of Facebook Fans from 50 to 400 in less than a week and just recently increased my blog subscribers to nearly 600 people.
I tell you this not to toot my own horn, but to impress upon you that these results are because of the fact that I actively participate in social media. Just as you can’t expect to throw up a website and see sales just come rolling in, you can’t just collect friends and expect miracles.
What it means to connect in social media
Here are just a few of the ways to truly build relationships with social media (Please add any of the ways you currently do so in the comments–I’d love to hear):
* Drop in to Facebook and check out who among your friends is having a birthday and wish them a happy one on their wall.
* Update your status on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook all at once by using Ping.fm. Ping.fm is a free service which allows users to post to multiple social sites simultaneously. Check back to see if your updates have sparked any conversation. If so, engage those people.
* Scan the news feed on your Facebook Home page and comment on or “like” interesting tidbits posted by your friends.
* Comment on high-traffic blogs in your niche.
* Check out the activity in any groups you belong to on LinkedIn or Facebook and ask or answer a few questions there.
* Head over to Twitter and post a helpful link, return new follows, re-tweet others, share a picture by using TwitPic or poll your followers.
* If you blog, set up the BlogLink and NetworkedBlogs applications on LinkedIn and Facebook to import your posts.
* Request or write a recommendation on LinkedIn.
* Send an update to your Facebook Fans, suggest your Fan Page to your friends or post an event to your Page.
The key is not to expect overnight results nor feel you need to spend hours a day on social sites in order to make any headway. Choosing a handful of strategies and implementing them on a regular basis won’t take a ton of time or energy.
What it will do is build momentum gradually but steadily. This is what leads to relationships, word of mouth, traffic, subscribers and ultimately, more sales.
Photo credit: julianrod
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Correct – There is no magic bullet. Growing a business takes time – social media is a new way to do it to reach people you would not have before.
Anthony Verna´s last blog ..Royalties and trusts
I like your practical advice and when you talk results, you speak my language.
J.D. Meier´s last blog ..Find Your Unique 20 Percent Spike
@Anthony–Best thing about it–that global reach and the chance to create relationships with so many.
@J.D.–I figured you would like that.
People want concrete results!