So, you've had a brief exposure to social media and social marketing.

I'm guessing your head is spinning somewhat so to get you on the right track, here are some pointers/tips which will help you convert prospects in the social networking world to customers in your business. At the same time, you'll have a lifeline for keeping yourself sane whilst taking useful action:

17 Business Tips for Social Media and Social Networking

1. Use Social Media and Social Marketing in your own business marketing! Obvious but needs to be stated nonetheless, there is too much at stake, namely your business and your livelihood.
2. Use them carefully! Remember your reputation, both personal and professional is open to constant exposure. Set a professional example at all times, the net holds everything recorded in one place or another…
3. Think twice, write once. Bite your tongue if someone has "had a go" at you online. Respond professionally and courteously.
4. Use the personal touch whenever possible. You will never be able to follow up with and contact all of your prospects/customers in a large niche. The effort with some though will help tremendously.
5. Use tools to automate and systematise. Although you cannot provide the personal touch to everyone, you can configure tools like autoresponders to help provide the personal and professional touch.
6. Solicit feedback and interaction. You need to establish a conversation and get involved with your fellow social networkers/readers. Ask questions, solicit comments.
7. Momentum is key. Commit to taking action regularly. Blog on a regular basis - at the very least a couple of times a week, more if you can. Interact on social network site groups and forums but commit to a certain number of actions per week and stick to it.
8. Promote your website and your content. Social bookmarking is a great source of traffic and search engines are using the contents of social bookmarking sites to influence search results. Make sure you have bookmarklets for the main sites like Digg, Stumbleupon etc…
9. Fill out your profiles - On whatever social networking sites you get involved in, fill out your profile in full (remember to include a prominent link back to your website!). People connect with people rather than websites so share a little about yourself and definitely include a photo.
10. Syndication is everything - There is a concept I first heard about from Paul Colligan called ISYOT: I've Seen You Out There. You need to syndicate your content far and wide. On some social networking sites (like Facebook for example) you can integrate your blog into your profile so people can keep track of what you're up to.
11. Social Advertising - Adwords may still be king of the hill but you can use many different social sites now and target the demographics of your choice. Facebook and Stumbleupon are two good examples.
12. Micro Blogging - Sites like Twitter (where you "Tweet") are an interesting new way to syndicate your presence and interact with others. It's an education in brevity as you have to get your point across to others in 140 characters or less.
13. Micro Blogging Syndication - Get more bang for your buck and syndicate your micro blogs. Use a syndication service like HelloTxt to ensure your message is written once and shared across multiple distribution channels with the touch of a button.
14. Freemiums - Giving great value to prospects in an attempt to impress is all the rage (aka "Moving the free line"), make sure any freebies you are offering are very high quality and evergreen (i.e. stand the test of time).
15. Stir up controversy - This is a double edged sword. Yes controversy gets traffic and creates great buzz and momentum around any message you put forth. Be careful the way you phrase any content - controversial is fine, offensive is not. If you don't have a thick skin/hard neck, this one is not for you.
16. An emphasis on fun - any way you want to present your message, try to inject humour and personality. When it comes to viral videos on Youtube and GoogleVideo for example, short, sweet and funny works well.
17. Widgets - There are many companies out there who have made little "widgets" which plug in to social networking sites to perform a service, all the while reminding you about their marketing message with a logo and/or tag line. You might want to invest in the creation of a widget yourself if you have a good idea and some spare cash.

Why 17 tips and not 97? We all have but 24 hours in the day. I had to draw the line somewhere today. I may well be back again to add more!

All the best,

Tom

Further Resources

A List of Social Media Marketing Examples

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