Relationship Marketing | Social Networking | Facebook Coaching

More and more people are being introduced to a new concept. It’s one that recognizes how social networking sites can be leveraged to dramatically impact a business.

Sites like Facebook are now being used to significantly increase the brand awareness of companies…

Some are using it to forge and foster important connections with the influential leaders of their industry or niche.

And still, others are tapping into its ability to be leveraged as a dynamic and interactive marketing tool.

The idea that someone — anyone — can join a social networking site, create a profile, establish a presence, and — within a relatively short amount of time — have expanded brand awareness, profitable industry connections, and a highly successful marketing campaign is almost laughable…

But, it’s one that’s quickly gaining legitimacy and momentum.

Now, bloggers are using social media/networking to reach a wider audience and gain readers…

Small business owners are incorporating social networking sites into their guerrilla marketing campaigns.

And, as a recent example, corporations like Visa are shelling out millions to Facebook in an effort to leverage the site’s reach among entrepreneurs.

The benefits of using social networking sites are real, tangible, and well-documented.

That said, there are a few principles regarding the use of sites like Facebook that will make navigating this new medium much easier. Below are 3 social networking principles that are well worth remembering:

1. Advocate Engagement - Actively interact with your friends, group members, followers, and fans.

Offer them a chance to develop a sense of ownership in what you’re doing by encouraging dialog, fostering a sense of community, and promoting two-way communication.

2. Building Relationships - People are social creatures. By nature, we desire to connect with one another.

Social networking gives everyone from solo entrepreneurs to small business owners opportunities to establish such vital relationships (which are often the backbone of word-of-mouth advertising).

Take advantage of those opportunities by leaving wall posts and thank you messages, sending gifts, and “tagging” friends.

3. Maintaining Transparency - This principle piggybacks of the previously mentioned one. Once a relationship is established, don’t just leave it at that. Go a step further…

Add photos, upload videos, update status messages constantly, import your blog feed… All of these things help you to “personalize” yourself or your offer. It puts the all important face behind the product.

This not only builds trust, it also leads to valuable relationships that could last a lifetime.

If time (or the lack thereof) is an issue, outsource some of those tasks to a virtual assistant. But, whatever you do, just don’t ignore them.

Social media marketing, at its core, is about developing relationships. I’d even go a little further and say it’s about developing the kind of relationships that produce both tangible and intangible profits… Money and irreplaceable friendships. Cold hard cash as well indispensable contacts and connections.

It’s no mistake that the word “social” comes before “media marketing.” However, far too many times, more importance seems to be given to the latter portion of the phrase instead. In the spirit of full disclosure I, too, had to resist the urge to do so.

When, I stumbled into this niche/industry, I was absolutely fascinated by the idea that I could profit financially from something I thoroughly enjoyed doing: connecting with people using social media tools (Facebook, in particular).

Now, don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing nefarious about wanting to make monetary gains by doing something you love. In fact, being able to do just that is one of life’s greatest joys. That said, the problem wasn’t in my desire to profit by doing what I love. The error was in my priorities — not the financial opportunity.

I was looking at social media marketing as a vehicle I could use to make money FIRST. As a result, helping others and their businesses to do the same (make money) fell to second place. The two desire should have been reversed.

In social media marketing, the desire to assist your connections, to add value to their lives and businesses, should be the principle motivating force behind our actions.

Many times, we can forget that social media is, for the most part, nothing but a reflection of our offline realities. That fact tends to get lost behind the digital clutter of the Internet where the line between online and offline behavior become fuzzy.

But, make no mistake about it… Someone who is placing cash before the client in “the real world” can just as easily be spotted online as he or she can be offline.

Instead of considering how we, as social media marketers, can exploit our “friends” we should, instead, connect with them, engage them, include them.

A woman once told me “everyone has a story to tell, everyone has a book to sell.”

Social media allows us to tell our unique story — and telling stories is one of the most powerful tools of engagement known to man.

It’s the way we pass down oral traditions. It’s how many soothe their kids to sleep. And it’s the way the most effective authors and copywriter magnetically draw our eyeballs to their words.

Social media sites like Facebook, Myspace, and yes - even Twitter - allow residents of Web 2.0 to tell their stories. Whenever you upload a picture on Facebook, write a blog post on Myspace, or answer the question “what are you doing” on Twitter — you’re telling your story.

Have you ever noticed the most “popular” people on these social networking sites are also the most active? That’s not mere coincidence. Those social site leaders/celebs recognize — whether consciously or not — that people want to connect.

Otherwise, those follows wouldn’t be leaving photo comments and wall posts. They wouldn’t be taking time out of their day to send messages and gifts. And the leaders of those communities are eager to reciprocate the gesture. That’s how you become visible. That’s how you get to the top. That’s how you stay there.

What’s brilliant is that social media sites like Facebook are viral. You’ll generate attention and attraction simply by participating. The more you participate, the more exposure you’ll receive.

Once you have that, leveraging your network for profitable gain will be like a walk in the park.

Takeaway Points:

• Social Media Marketing is about “relationships first, sales second.”
• Tell your story simply by participating: adding photos, leaving wall posts, sending messages.
• Once you’ve attracted attention, engage your fans, followers, and friends by connecting with them.
• Add value to their lives and endeavors, then - and, only then - focus on financial gain.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted to the blog… My apologies for that. Things have been very busy (but in a good way) over here. In any case, here’s the final post in my rant/advice series about the “3 Deadly Facebook Mistakes.”

Truth be told, there are probably a lot more than three — but people like numbers so I decided to condense my rants and only tackle what I consider to be the most pressing issues.

That said, this post will touch on the risky behavior of using Facebook as a marketing tool first, and a relationship building utility second. Doing so is a surefire way of putting your account — and good name — in jeopardy.

Facebook was built around one core concept: building relationships. It was designed to encourage communication and serve as a virtual extension of our real-world social networks. Facebook is meant to supplement those existing networks — not replace them. Simply put, Zuckerberg & Co. places heavy emphasis on relationships and using Facebook to build, as well as strengthen, them.

Now, how does that relate to using Facebook as a marketing medium?

Well, a lot of business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs are approaching Facebook from a traditional marketing standpoint - one where the advertising is done first. It’s akin to saying “here’s my product/service… would you like to buy?” In other words, they see Facebook members as potential customers before they see them as potential friends.

I have a theory as to why this seems to be happening on Facebook more and more these days. I believe that it stems from the differences between the top two social networking sites, Myspace and Facebook. Before I begin, I want to say that this is not a knock on Myspace. I’m merely attempting to point out the differences between the two platforms and how they are relevant to this discussion.

That said, Myspace and Facebook share a lot of similarities. However, they tend to differ in one key concept: relationship building. On Myspace, existing relationships and real-world connections are not as heavily emphasized as they are on Facebook.

The implicit goal for a lot of members is to gain as many “friends” as possible. From a marketing standpoint, the same is true. Just create a profile for yourself - or your product - find people who would be interested in your services, add them as a friend, and then “broadcast” away.

Like I said, this is not inherently a bad thing. A lot of people are making good money and driving very respectable numbers of traffic to their sites and product offers. This, with a few exceptions, is an accepted aspect of Myspace culture.

The problem that I’m noticing is that a lot of people will come to Facebook and, without being familiar with the cultural differences, will engage in the same kind of promotion — one that places the offer first and the relationship second. In Facebook’s universe, this is seriously frowned upon.

Keep in mind Facebook’s history. The website started as a small network of Ivy League schools that eventually expanded to other college campuses around the U.S. For the longest, you had to have a university email address to register for the site.

Later on, Facebook opened it’s doors to complete outsiders, but that spirit of exclusivity and it’s emphasis on building upon EXISTING relationships remained, even after the gates were completely opened.

That’s why social media marketers should approach Facebook differently. The culture is completely different than what most might be used to. This is not to say the site doesn’t present tremendous opportunities for those wanting to use it for marketing purposes.

In fact, Facebook has proven to be extremely profitable for a lot of people in a variety of niches. However, it’s imperative that we, as social media marketers, use Facebook in a way that finds us swimming with the stream’s current and not against it.

To wrap things up, I’ll leave with this little reminder. Approach your fellow Facebook members as potential friends. Nurture that relationship… Provide them with value… And take comfort in the fact that your good efforts will be reciprocated in one form or another.

That’s all for now. Have a fantastic weekend, and I promise I’ll be more consistent with my posts in the future (and I was doing so well in the beginning ).

To continue what, I suppose is my, rant/advice series, I thought I’d tackle another issue concerning Facebook mistakes: application overload (aka - adding so many applications - many of them useless - that my browser slows to a crawl, my blood boils, and my computer flirts with the blue screen of death.

Take a look at the, totally uncalled for, image below:

This is a PRIME example of “App Abuse!”

There is no way someone can justify having that many applications.

Just because Facebook lacks an application limit, that doesn’t mean adding a ton of them is cool.

In fact, it’s downright annoying. If you’re using Facebook for social media marketing purposes, remember that you’re presenting an image to people - and you want to put the best foot forward.

Having a browser lock and crash because it’s being taxed to death while trying to load an assortment of apps is not the best way to convey professionalism and courtesy to your visitor.

Statistics show that most website visitors will decide within five seconds whether they want to stay on a website or not.

If your Facebook profile is still loading after that time, it’s safe to say your visitors are not sticking around. You’re running the risk of losing friendships, networking opportunities, and customers. So, trim the apps… go on a Facebook application diet.

Learn to balance the personal with the professional. Facebook still serves as a digital representation of yourself. A profile filled with nothing but “business related apps” is not necessary. In fact, it can be a rather dry and boring experience.

But, in the same breath, no one wants to visit a profile that takes 20 seconds to load because you just had to add the Vampire, Grow a plant, Super Wall, Fun Wall, iLike, Super Poke, and five hundred other “just for fun” applications.

Just remember to keep things in perspective, maintain a professional vs. personal profile, and you’ll be fine.

I just stumbled on a wonderful site that publishes entertaining and information videos using nothing but the basics: a video camera, some good storytelling, paper, and plain English.

The website is called Common Craft and they recently produced a video that explains social media using an entertaining story about a small town named Scoopville and their ice creaming loving residents.

Even if you have a fairly decent understanding of social media, this video will definitely help you see it in a completely different way (unless, of course, you’ve already seen the video )

Common Craft’s “Social Media Explained” video doesn’t really touch on social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace, but much of the concepts and explanations - like sharing, user generated content, and interactivity - still apply.

Check it out by clicking the link below:

http://commoncraft.com/socialmedia

Woohoo! Today marks the day I received my very first piece of Facebook spam.

See, guys, this is the bulls–t I’ve been afraid of… Internet Marketers discover Facebook… IM bottom-feeders looking for a quick buck use the site in lame, nefarious ways… my inbox starts to flood with junk…. end of story.

Hopefully, it won’t come to that and, given Facebook’s great track record in creating a wonderful user experience, it probably won’t. But, still, it pains me to think that the crap I received today is a sign of things to come.

If you’re new to Facebook - or any other social networking site for that matter - do not try to sell or pitch to me from jump street. Sites like Facebook are built around one core, central concept: the relationship. Learn how to build those first before you go off on some god-awful “marketing” spree.

Provide value to the people you interact with. Make them proud of be your “friend.” Don’t send them affiliate links promoting Yuwie (it’s a social networking where members can make a few bucks here and there just by using the site).

I leave you with this: the lame ass message I received at 2:04 this afternoon.

Subject: hello there

Body: i just wanted to stop by and let you know , i am getting paid online by doing what i do at myspace , come join me @ [link removed because that dude doesn't deserve one] NO FEES TO JOIN pays worldwide , a real no brainer

Well, he’s right about one thing: it is a “real no brainer” because I’m not networking with him anytime soon. I’m just not sure if I should send him a reply respectfully acknowledging his social gaffe, or just de-friend him and place his name on my block list.

I know people will take what others say about the leveraging and marketing power of Facebook with a dose of skepticism. There’s nothing wrong with being a little cautious… In fact, I believe we should probably take what people tell us with a grain of salt more than society does so now. But, I digress…

I wanted to write a quick blog post about networking on Facebook. Mainly, to encourage people who have never used it for that purpose to get out there and start expanding their virtual business Rolodex. I’m sure those words alone might not be enough to convert the staunch disbeliever.

If you’re one of them, I hope you’ll take my story as a testament to the power of social media sites like Facebook. Less than a year ago, a prominent magazine ran a feature entitled “Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25;” or something like that.

Anyway, I glanced over the articles and photos of these young business moguls-in-training, and immediately wanted to connect with them. Ten, eight, or even five years ago, doing that would have been significantly harder than it would be today.

Sure, I could’ve sent them an email or a letter - and I still recommend doing those things - but the turnaround time and impersonal nature of those communication channels make them severely limited in scope and effectiveness…

The recipient of my letter wouldn’t be able to see that we, both, share a love for Auburn Tigers football. My email wouldn’t be able to give him or her the personal, intimate details that are necessary for establishing any kind of significant relationship. Not to mention, sending letters and emails would be highly time-consuming and, thus, an ineffective networking method when used apart from other, more web-based, methods.

And speaking of web-based methods, it was Facebook that allowed me to reach out and connect with one of the featured entrepreneurs in the magazine (given the popularity of Facebook, there’s a good chance your mentor or someone you want to connect with is a member on the site as well).

All of this happened around late 2007/early 2008. And because of my initial effort, I gained a valuable contact, a potential business partner (we’ve actually planned a discussion/brainstorming session next week) - and, best of all, a great friend.

With that said, use today as a time to reach out and contact someone whom you really admire and look up to… You never know what great relationships may develop as a result.

This post was inspired by my most recent Facebook visit. I’m starting to find myself growing more and more frustrated at the ignorant uses and abuses of the website.

There appears to be an influx of people who don’t know what to do on Facebook, how to promote their message without contributing to the virtual clutter (like countless application request and wall spam), or how to engage a complete stranger in an inviting and friendly way.

These recent rash of abuses warrant a post from me. That said, I present to you my picks for the 3 deadly Facebook mistakes you might be committing.

We’ll begin with number 1 (obviously): Not leaving a message when you send an anonymous friend request.

This is becoming on of my biggest pet peeves concerning Facebook users. In the past, receiving a request without the accompanying “how we know each other” tag was considered acceptable behavior.

For one, Facebook didn’t roll out the feature until a few years after their founding so leaving such a message was impossible. Two, most of the people leaving friend requests were either close friends, associates, or people you saw often. It was fairly easy to determine how you knew him or her.

Now, things aren’t so clear. Facebook is attracting well over 250,000 new people every day. Some of those people will be using Facebook for social marketing and network building purposes… Nothing wrong with that.

But when you send me a friend request out of the blue, I expect to know why you want to be my friend. Facebook, still is - and always will be - about the relationship. If I have no connection to you whatsoever - no school affiliation, no shared city or state, few mutual friends - I need to know what our relationship is… Because, until some form of contact is initiated, your name is “Stranger” to me.

Provide your friend request with context. How did you notice me on Facebook? Did you see something about my profile that made you want to connect with me? Do we have a mutual friend that mentioned me by name? Tell me something!

Give me, at least, a little bit of information to go on. This way, I can mentally establish a connection with you. Otherwise, you run the risk of being relegated to the part of my Facebook conscious that identifies you as another “faux friend.”

That’s all for now… I’ll touch on the other mistakes in the upcoming posts.

Greetings, Aloha, Konnichi-wa, What’s up, Hola, and Hello…

What you are looking at right now is the very first post on SocialMediaSidekick.com. I feel like I should’ve prepared for this. I mean, really, how often does one get to make THE first post on a blog? Okay, I’m beginning to ramble.

Let me just say thanks to everyone who is reading this… Why? Because you’re taking time out of your busy day to read what I am writing. To me, that’s an honor. I don’t take that lightly. That said, I’ll do my best to bring you the content and information that you want.

“So what is this SocialMediaSidekick.com site about anyway?

Well, I wrote a pretty lengthy description on the “About” page but I’ll try to save you an extra click by giving you the condensed version (After publishing this post, it’s pretty clear that I failed in giving you the “condensed” version… sorry about that).

Basically, I’ll be sharing everything I know - and will discover - about social media and using it for marketing, brand building, networking, and other similar activities.

If you’re net to the term “social media,” let me tell you a little about it. In so many words, social media consists of sites that give the power to create, publish, and disseminate content to the user, instead of a selected few within the organization or company.

Take Youtube for instance… The site is driven by user-generated content. The site’s members are the ones creating, uploading, and sharing videos - NOT the Youtube employees. In a nutshell, virtually all Web 2.0 websites (like Youtube, Facebook, Myspace, Digg, etc) share something in common: the social media aspect.

I didn’t realize the potential and power than were in these social media sites until I joined Facebook in 2005. I became a member during the period when you had to be a college student to join. At the time, I figured Facebook was just some new trend, a soon-to-be passing fad.

However, I quickly realized that there was something different going on. I noticed that people were starting to use the power of Facebook and leverage it in phenomenal ways.

For instance, entire events were being organized using only Facebook as the communication tool… Photographers were building large client lists and then building buzz for themselves by posting their artwork on the site… Civic leaders were beginning to utilize the social site as a medium to spread their message to the masses.

These people were literally doing what others were spending hundreds - and even thousands - of dollars to do: reach and engage potential voters, customers, and fans.

Witnessing that quickly caught my attention. And, as someone who has followed Facebook for quite some time I thought I’d learn more about this phenomenon of “social media marketing.”

After years of becoming familiar with Facebook, and social media in general, I decided to share what I had learned. Thus, the idea for this blog was born.

So, here we are now… My goal is to be your guide, your aid, to this concept of using social media websites to increase your brand’s awareness, to expand your social and professional network, to market your services to targeted people, and to solidify your “social proof” and “expert status.”

You can look forward to weekly updates that include:

• audio interviews with successful social marketers…
• innovative strategies for leveraging the power of these social media websites…
• easy-to-follow tutorials to help you master the basics and become familiar with today’s many different Web 2.0 sites…
• practical “social media optimization” ideas…
• conversations on powerful tips, tools, tricks, and techniques…
• and a butt-load of knowledge that you can use to make money using free social media technology and services.

Sorry, for the long post… But I figured the least I could do was give you a taste of things to come. Thanks again for taking time out of your day. I’m looking forward to seeing you around. Be sure to check back soon and check back ofter.

Peace,

Deon Gordon
“Your Social Media Sidekick”