Social Media Networks such as Facebook, Twitter Youtube and LinkedIn is quickly becoming the latest trend in powerful business marketing.
Never has there been a marketing tool so dynamic that can promote your brand on a massive scale and link you instantly to a global network of potential customers.

Social Media Marketing truly has the capability to generate awesome sales with almost no hard costs involved…just a little time, and a little marketing knowhow.

However, Social Media Network Marketing is a little different to traditional marketing. As the name suggests, it goes down to ‘networking’.

If you want to really success at online network marketing you need to focus on your etiquette.

Attracting Followers
Think of Social Media Networking in the same way you would traditional networking.
Don’t just follow anyone just because you want to be known by everyone, selectively search for followers you want to be associated with and that you can see the potential of a future business partnership.
Online social networks usually have an easy search tool allowing you to search keywords or business names to find others in a similar industry or the industry you want to attract to your business.
When you decide to connect with that person or business, send them a greeting to say ‘hi’ and introduce yourself. Keep it brief, simple and lighthearted.
First impressions can possibly be your only opportunity to connect with that person so as well as being informative, let them see your true character and also see how they can benefit by connecting to you.
Twitter only gives you 140 text characters, so it needs to be straight to the point, a little like having to introduce yourself and your business to someone in one single sentence.
Remember people don’t always respond straight away to your requests, so don’t keen trying every day if they don’t respond or you will just drive them nuts!
Give them time to respond to your request.

One of the easiest ways to get new followers on most social media networks is simply post messages that attract interest!
Whether it is a blog, a new Youtube clip or just a short tweet on Twitter, what you write and how you write it can be the difference to losing followers or gaining hundreds of new ones.
A social network doesn’t have to be 100% all about your business. What makes a social network really work is the personal touch you give it. People love to know about other people, even if they don’t really know them.
Post something insightful, a quirky message, add a little humour or even post a question for people to respond to, and people will respond to you, and your personality.
Sharing what you can do for them with interesting tips (like this blog post!) can be hugely successful in gaining new customers. It doesn’t have to always be about directly flogging your products all the time, otherwise you start looking like a television commercial…and we all hate TV commercials!

New Connections
When someone connects with you, always acknowledge them.
They have chosen to connect with you for one reason or another, whether it is just to make them look more popular or to actually want to genuinely be interested in what you do or sell, so so your appreciation and say thanks.
Drop them a short tweet or message back and tell them thanks for following and let them know you are always happy to help, or give your product a light plug.
For example, if you sell financial advice, your message could be ‘Hi Janet, thanks for following! Visit my blog (add web address) for more helpful hints on reaching your financial goals”
You will then be not only acknowledging them as a person by adding their name, but also directing them to your website or blog, which they will most likely visit as soon as they get your message.
Now, add other Social Media Network buttons to your site or blog, like Facebook, and you will find they will also start following you there as well, which then every time you post a message on Facebook they will receive and their friends will also see it, attracting new potential friends for you!
It’s a simple little system, but works very well!

Posting Etiquette
Whether you have decided to connect with others or they have connected to you, the secret of retaining them is in your posts.
Keep your audience interested but also always remember to watch what you type. The worst thing about the internet is that you can’t really express yourself humanly.
You can’t actually laugh, smile, frown, cry, show love, etc. And sometimes what you write can come out sounding not like what you really intended.
So always re-read your messages before hitting the send button. Social Media messages have the potential to spread like wildfire…if your message is witty or useful people will click their ‘like button on Facebook or retweet it on Twitter, but if it comes across rude or annoying, people may also retweet this, which can instantly give your business a bad name.
Don’t ever badmouth an actual identity online (even if they are a politician!). Your views may not be that of others, and when you send that message out into cyberspace, there could be many more people reading than just your network.
The old saying what goes around comes around can bite you on the bum!

Happy social networking!

Author Chris Bourke of Devision Design and WebSEOCoach.com
Chris is a graphic designer, web developer and online social media marketer.

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