Social networking is not about making money – it’s about making friends. It’s about being socially effective. Now, that said, when you have a whole bunch of friends – who know what you do, like what you do and want some of that – it’s pretty easy to start making money.
Social media marketing for business, especially small business, is about building your Tribe, building your community, gathering the people who care about you and connect with both what you do and who you are. You are networking, yes, and you are engaging people because you are telling your story – social storytelling is more than advertising, it’s a gentle and respectful form of marketing.
Since you’re going to be telling that story – here are some great ideas on how to broaden the group you tell it to; your network.
6 Steps to creating effective social networking for your business:
1 – Invest some time, everyday. If you have to start with just one social network or social media platform and make it good, do that – be great at one thing rather than mediocre at everything.
2 – Go where people already are. Don’t try to create the wheel when there is a group of people currently enjoying their wheel and you can join in.
3 – Get your Blog or website up, functioning and ready BEFORE you promote it. if your site is ‘under construction’ then hide it until it’s built. Once it’s live, use that email – me@myblog(dot)com makes a good point.
4 – Invite your friends and supporters. Ask the people you know to be your first round of contacts in a new platform (facebook fans to your new blog, email list to your new facebookpage, etc)
5 – Post good solid content from your site to the social networks. When people like it, they can track back to your blog (back to point 3 – make sure if you invite people over to your house, the house is built, decorated and clean!)
6 – Drive your connections in the Social Media outposts to your website. Invite them to come over, invite them to take the next step. If you don’t connect with folks from the networks to your blog/home/website you are wasting your time, if you don’t have a connection on a platform that you own and control, you don’t have a connection that lasts.
Build your value, build your blog subscribers, build your network. This is easy, you already know how to be socially effective – it’s time to do it online.
Oh, and have some fun!
