When it comes to the social media marketing game and trying as a business to amass the largest online community you can, there are some surprisingly simple formulas for creating and developing a mammoth following. In many ways, developing social media contacts for your company and services in cyberspace is a lot like making friends in real life. In order to make new friends in real life, you have to get out into the world to forge connections with new people and the same goes for Internet relationships. To build a tribe of clients and business contacts in social media communities, you have to actively pursue that world through making your own profile and putting yourself out there.

Twitter is a great network to get started with. People there are generally looking for ways to extend their communities so their own thoughts can be heard, so they tend to be very open to following new people. We’ve got three easy steps for building and growing your social network community of followers after you’ve set up your Twitter profile. Think of it like meeting new people at a party. So, treat your Twitter account like a community mixer.

<blockquote><strong>1.  Introduce Yourself</strong>

The way you introduce yourself to a new person on Twitter is to follow them – with the intention being to get them to follow you back. Start your core group by following your friends and people you know will follow your Tweets. Then extend your range to include people who share common interests with you and your business. To begin, find your competitors or experts in your field and follow the people who follow them.</blockquote>

<blockquote><strong>2.  Start a Conversation</strong>

You’re on Twitter, you’ve made the introductions, now it’s time to start making small talk. Tweet your thoughts, tips, ideas, current events or interests on a regular basis, but don’t be overwhelming. Keep the chatter professional and client appropriate, yet make your Tweets unique and authentic. You want to develop a rapport with your followers and the best way to do that is to be yourself.</blockquote>

<blockquote><strong>3.  Throw Your Own Party</strong>

Invite people to hang out with you by advertising your Twitter link on your website, in your email signature and in newsletters or articles. Encourage people who are already your mailing list contacts and blog readers to follow you on Twitter too.</blockquote>

Don’t be shy about approaching new folks to follow. Remember, in general, people who don’t want to meet people tend to avoid social gatherings. It’s the ones who do want to get out, make new acquaintances and forge new relationships, who go to all the events. Now get your virtual cocktail party gear on and enjoy your Tweeting!

Training executives for promoting their business via social media outlets is becoming a huge focus for many companies. Social networking communities hold great potential for marketing, branding and building your company image. In fact, many companies are hiring employees expressly to manage their social networking media for them.

As this popularity grows and more and more people turn to social networking communities as a top vehicle for communication and information, it’s vital that businesses become involved in them and use the potential of the interaction within those networks. Part of that involves training your employees on how to promote themselves and your company through social media, and how to keep their communities in check while making sure to not blur the lines between business and personal networks.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Make sure that your employees are savvy in social networking. Introduce them to the top three networks and give them brief rundowns on how each works.
• Take care to warn them about mixing business with pleasure. For example, your customers shouldn’t be given access to your employees’ photos of their beer chugging adventure at Oktoberfest.
• Help your workers get their professional accounts started by providing examples of appropriate profiles.
• Give your employees samples of suitable status updates they can use on their accounts to promote your business.
• Create a series of Tweets for employees to send out with links to your website.

With 90 million users on LinkedIn, 175 million on Twitter, and over 500 million on Facebook, social networks are insanely popular and are becoming a top resource for businesses from every industry across the board. In the past few years, the widespread use of these communities has changed the face of business and people are including their LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter links in their email signatures, on their websites and even on their business cards.

By making sure your company and your employees are well versed in the social media game, you stay current in the online conversation and up-to-date in the ever expanding world of social media marketing.

These days everyone seems to be obsessed with social media. From Facebook updates to Twitter tweets, you can keep track of what most of your friends are doing or feeling or thinking twenty-four hours a day. And, if you’re active with your account, they can keep track of your thoughts and ideas as well, which is why your business absolutely must have profiles with regular updates in both of these communities.

 

Marketing through social media is different than traditional methods of advertising and promoting your business. Rather than selling products, the goal of social media marketing is to create a relationship with your clients that is more than simply buyer-seller based. Through your Facebook and Twitter accounts you can get to know your clientele and learn how you can further accommodate their needs. You can also show them that you care about those needs and are in business for reasons other than just making money.

 

It’s important to know that effective social media marketing is not something that’s going to happen overnight. Dedication (and patience) is key and regular, consistent posts on both of your accounts are essential for becoming part of the online conversation.  While the occasional tweet or Facebook update can offer a discount on your product or advertise a sale, you should keep the majority of your content focused on adding value for your clientele with things like providing helpful hints or tips.

 

The goal is to create an authentic persona for your business. People like dealing with people, and social media marketing is a way to remind your clientele that your business is more than just a shopping cart on a website.

These days, people are treating social networks as a legitimate part of their lives. People take their online profiles seriously, and a lot of time is devoted to updating and maintaining their information. They devote even more time to browsing the networks and checking out what other people are up to. And, that’s why you have to make sure your business is there for them to check out.

Now, we’re not promising that having an active business profile on any social network is going to get you as much exposure as a spread in Time Magazine or an interview in the Wall Street Journal. It will, however, get you an expanded contact list, increase your presence and status in your market’s online conversation and keep your business in front of your friends (Facebook), followers (Twitter) and contacts (Linked-In).

Social networking has moved beyond its early days of being an online amusement to becoming a way of life.  For a lot of folks, Facebook is now their primary form of communication. Social networks are also turning into a top go-to for information on things like which restaurant has the best Chinese food in Dallas or where to hire the coolest wedding singer in Topeka. Rather than Googling for the best (fill in your business) in all of (fill in your locale), your potential clients are going to LinkedIn. Are they going to find you or your competition?

Being an active participant on networking sites is a great way to put yourself in the online conversation and establish your business as part of your market’s community. Here are some ways to increase your online presence using the top three networking sites:

 Twitter: Follow people who have similar businesses as yours and invite people who list an interest in your market to follow you. Send regular tweets but make sure they’re not all sales pitches.  Offer your followers helpful hints or valuable tips to establish credibility in your area of expertise while keeping your name at the forefront of your followers’ minds.

Facebook: Create a page for your business and invite your clients to become fans. Increase your fan base by inviting potential clients from your target market. You can search for people by location, age or interest to help you pinpoint whom to invite. Having a Facebook page gives you an easy way to keep your business’ fans up-to-date on all the latest happenings in your company and a vehicle for reminding them that your services are available when they’re ready for them.

LinkedIn: The top professional networking community, LinkedIn, helps you maintain contact with past business associates and develop relationships with new ones. You can also join groups with similar interests to connect to peers in your arena. By participating in their online conversations, you create a name and a presence for yourself, all while expanding your reach to more and more potential clients.