Social marketing simply means using social media sites as a way to network with other people and promote your Internet content.

The advantage of using social media as a marketing tool is that you can reach a lot of people and it's free.

Social media sites include well known places like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Digg, Squidoo and Hubpages.

There are many more, some having been formed for general audiences and some for very specific groups of people.

"The Golf Space" for example, is a place to interact with other golfers as well as read articles, find products, anything and everything related to golf.

You won't find any articles about football here!

Contents at a Glance

1. Social Marketing: Social Media Marketing Dos and Don'ts
2. Successful Social Marketing Campaigns
3. Social Marketing Dos and Don'ts
4. Social Marketing and Customer Relationships
5. Social Marketing Etiquette

Find Related Topics

Facebook, for example, appeals to a very wide audience.

But within Facebook, smaller groups form based around similar interests.

You can interact primarily with the music crowd, college students, business networking - the list is practically endless.

You don't have to limit yourself to one area - in fact it's better if you show yourself to be a well rounded person with a variety of interests.

The key is to post appropriate material to the individual site.

The more solid a group becomes, the more likely that a set of unwritten rules has come into being for interaction on that site.

For a great lesson on what to do and what not to do when you are a newcomer, go to the park on a beautiful day and observe the children at play.

There will probably be a set of kids who have arrived together for a play date.

They will stick close together and look on any other child that tries to join them as an intruder.

The New Kid on the Block

A new child arrives at the play area. At first, he will probably hang back and observe the other children.

If he's terribly shy, he'll remain alone unless invited by another more outgoing child to play.

If he's not all that timid, he may pick another child or group of children and ask if he can join them.

If he goes up to the group of kids that arrived together, they very well may tell him "no."

But let's say they are in a good mood that day and invite him to join them in a game of superheroes.

The WORST thing the newcomer can do is to immediately start changing the rules of the game and telling every one else who gets to be the good guy and who is the bad guy.

Or, announce he doesn't want to play superheroes and suggest a game of tag.

You just don't make friends by changing up the rules of the game first thing!

The Naturally Popular Kid

The child who has begun to learn the social rules will take a different approach.

If his request to join the established group of friends is turned down, he will go off and start an interesting activity of his own.

Maybe he starts creating a massive volcano surrounded by a giant moat in the sandbox.

Kids can't resist making mountains in the sand combined with digging "holes to China."

Sooner or later, someone is going to want to help.

If he is invited to play with the group, he'll play their game by their rules.

When the game starts to get boring, he may bring out his brand new super duper Rescue Hero toy that no one else has seen yet.

As the other kids crowd around, he'll show them how it works and then let them each take a turn.

Now he's the cool kid and will be fully accepted into the group.

He fits in with the group dynamics AND he's brought something that the other kids want.

He's set.

How to Become the Cool Kid

1. Research the site you are on to be sure it's a fit for your interests.

2. Check out the official rules on the site as to what type of content they are looking for and how many links you can have, etc.

3. Read the most popular articles and the comments below. What value is given in those articles and how are the comments written?

Then look for articles that aren't scoring well.

Is it because they are new and haven't had a chance to score yet?

Are they overly promotional, or difficult to follow?

Is the format different than the articles that do well?

Maybe the high performance articles include pictures, or are longer/shorter than others.

4. Support members of the community.

When you come across a good article, write a comment telling the author what you came away with.

Be specific - was it new information, inspiring, funny, or did it provide value to you in some particular area?

If you really liked it, bookmark it.

5. Focus your first articles on value based information.

Don't put in too many self promotional links at first.

One or two at the most, but make them subtle.

"For more information on (insert your topic) see (your review page, lead capture page, another article you've written)."

6. As you begin to write articles that are promotional, avoid putting your links in the first paragraph.

Don't put them too far down the page, or your reader may not find them, but don't start your article with BUY HERE!

7. Continue to interact and support the community even as your own content becomes more popular.

The key word is SOCIAL and you don't ever want to forget to give back to the community on a regular basis.

8. Every playground has its bullies.

The thing to remember is that you aren't trying to be friends with the bullies!

If someone expresses a dislike for your content or your offer, it's okay because they aren't the person you are trying to reach!

Attraction marketing isn't about talking someone into buying from you - it's about attracting the ones who WANT to buy from you.

So keep the occasional bully in the proper perspective - someone who for whatever reason is not in your target market to begin with.

You may strike up a conversation with someone one day, and three months later find that they want to know more about your business.

Keep in mind that building long term relationships means delayed gratification.

You won't make oodles of leads and buckets of money in the first days, weeks, maybe even months.

But as you continue to contribute to the community and people come to know you, trust you and recognize you as a leader, your list will start to grow.

With every article you put out, you are branding yourself.

People will come to recognize your name and associate it with solutions to specific problems they are having.

You'll find it doesn't really matter what company you represent.

You are building a business known as YOU INTERNATIONAL!

See you on the social circuit!

Barbara Silva has been an educator for over thirty years. She is an Internet marketing coach for home business owners and network marketers. She teaches her clients how to use attraction marketing and the Internet to generate leads.

Putting content up on sites like Squidoo, Hubpages, FaceBook, MySpace - any social media where a community of people has formed because of similar interests is a profitable way to promote your business.

It's important to remember, though, that any time a group forms a close-knit bond, they don't welcome just anyone into their community.

As they have come to know one another and interacted over time, a set of unwritten rules comes into play.

Study the Rules of the Game

There are definite social marketing dos and don'ts.

Spend a little time at a new social site to get a feel for the way things operate.

There will usually be "official rules" put up by the host site itself having to do with what kind of content you can post, how many links you can use and so on.

Always read these guidelines before writing your first article.

However, you also want to be sure to pay attention to the more subtle community rules.

Read what the more popular posters have written. What kinds of things are they writing about?

Take the time to read comments and get a feel for the interaction between community members.

As you post your first couple of articles, keep them value driven with minimal promotion.

You need to be accepted into the group and you don't want to risk being perceived as a "selfish" poster.

Supporting the Community

Just as in bookmarking, make a practice of supporting at least six other writers by adding comments or rating their articles for every one article you post.

At Squidoo you can "favorite" a lens, which means you can easily find new lenses by that writer.

At Hubpages, you do this by becoming a "fan."

To vote for a Squidoo lens, go to the top of the page and rate the article from 1-5 stars, 5 meaning excellent.

Hubpages gives a thumbs up or thumbs down icon.

When you comment, be specific.

General comments like "good article" don't provide much value to the author.

Let them know exactly what it was about their article that moved, inspired or educated you.

When someone sends or "shouts" an article to you at Digg, you have two places to comment.

You can comment on the actual article, which will again be of most value to the writer.

You can also leave a comment at the Digg submission.

The person who posted the article may or may not be the original author, but if they have brought a good article to your attention let them know.

Fill the Needs of the Community

Another way to "get in with the crowd" is to answer requests.

At Hubpages, there is an actual link called "requests."

There you will find a list of topics people have asked that someone address.

The down side is that these topics may or may not be ones that are highly searched on the search engines, but you will definitely get lots of hub viewers.

Along the way, some will become your fans and you will have a built in audience for your future hubs.

Always be on the lookout for questions to which you can provide helpful answers.

This participation in the community will gradually build up your followers and as you put up several articles at a particular site, you can gradually become more promotional.

Whether your focus for a given piece is value driven or promotional - always make sure the value is there.

This will help ensure your social marketing campaigns are successful.

Avoid Being "Flagged" or "Blocked"

My personal pet peeve is when someone who has never communicated with me before opens with "Boy, do I have a great opportunity for you."

I will click out of the article before getting to the second sentence -- I just don't have time for that.

If other people feel you are trying to push your products or opportunity at a social site, they will either block you from their list or complain to the site managers.

You may find your articles are removed.

Usually, you are given instructions on how to revise your article before this happens, but community members are not as likely to give you a second chance.

Another way to aggravate people is to produce multiple articles that offer nothing new in the way of value.

You can write on the same topic, but each article should be unique and not a carbon copy of a previous one.

Digg Your Best Stuff

If you are submitting articles at a site like Digg, you are asking people to take the time to read and rate a particular piece.

Therefore, be sure you are only sending your best stuff.

If you submit two to three articles everyday, you will likely be ignored.

People in the Digg community have lots of people they support and they simply don't have time to read hundreds of submissions.

They will very quickly find out which writers provide the value and whose articles are worth taking the time to read.

When someone who consistently shares interesting information sends something they think I should see; I'll take a look. They have earned the right to put that offer in front of me by treating me as a friend and not a dollar sign.

Use Your Party Manners

When using social marketing, think of yourself as being a guest at a party where you don't know anyone.

First, you'll probably want to know the dress code. No one wants to show up in a tee shirt and jeans and find everyone else is in cocktail attire.

When you arrive, your host and hostess will hopefully introduce you to someone, but if they don't, you'll probably hang back awhile and observe.

At some point, someone will smile at you or give you an opening to enter into a conversation.

You wouldn't choose this point to jump on the table, whip out your guitar and begin singing at the top of your lungs.

Instead, you would engage in polite conversation, finding out about the other people.

Your guitar playing may come up naturally. Someone may turn to you and ask, "And what do you do?" Now you have the opening to say, "Oh, I play a little guitar."

The response will tell you whether to leave it at that for now or continue.

If the answer is "that's nice" you know to drop the subject.

If people move closer to you and ask if you brought your guitar with you, you might get to play for everyone.

I wouldn't jump up on the table though. Your hostess won't invite you to the next party if you scuff her fine wood dining table she inherited from her grandmother.

Social Media as a Marketing Tool

Social marketing means interacting with people the same way as you would as a newcomer to a party.

Play by the rules and you'll find social sites are an excellent source to connect with and learn from other marketers.

Potential customers can get to know you in a no pressure environment.

Time at these sites is usually well spent.

Before long, you'll be playing guitar, selling guitars, or giving lessons without even trying.

Once you know your audience, you'll start to get standing ovations.

Barbara Silva has been an educator for over thirty years. She is an Internet marketing coach for home business owners and network marketers. She teaches her clients how to use attraction marketing and the Internet to generate leads.

Contents at a Glance

1. Social Marketing: Social Media Marketing Dos and Don'ts
2. Successful Social Marketing Campaigns
3. Social Marketing Dos and Don'ts
4. Social Marketing and Customer Relationships
5. Social Marketing Etiquette

Find Related Topics