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The Dos and Don'ts of Social Networking
| Guest post by: Ivan R. Misner |
Article Overview: Use these tips to maximize your time and get the most out of your online efforts.
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Free Download - Sorting Out Who's Who By Ivan R. Misner |
The Dos and Don'ts of Social Networking
People have a tendency to get online at random times and start clicking away. Then something mysterious happens to the space-time continuum, and all of a sudden two hours goes and they have nothing to show for it. But it's fairly easy to avoid falling victim to that trap--have a plan and stick to it!
The key to success with social media is to outline a strategy which considers the amount of time you can realistically dedicate each day to your online marketing efforts. If you plan your activities, use time-saving tools and make sure your ROI expectations are reasonable you'll be in a good position to succeed at social networking.
Find the social network that's right for you.
Everything that follows hinges upon this point. And let me add, it's not all about Facebook. Some businesses will benefit more from concentrating on niche networks that may have less traffic, but more are targeted to that particular brand's consumer.
Planning ahead makes you efficient.
Map out a weekly schedule that outlines the specific days and times you will spend on social media. Figure out what's realistic and what makes sense for your company and go from there. Here's a sample weekly schedule.
- Every day: You post one update at 9 a.m., one at 1 p.m. and one at 5 p.m.
- Mondays and Wednesdays: You dedicate 10 minutes to responding to comments and direct messages at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
- Tuesdays and Thursdays: You dedicate 10 minutes at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to retweeting people's comments and thanking people for mentioning you or retweeting your posts.
Use tools to save time.
Take advantage of the various social media tools that are designed specifically to save you time. For example, sites like ping, seismic and tweetdeck help you by sending updates to multiple social networking sites, including Twitter and Facebook, with one click.
Some sites-like atomkeep -even allow you to link multiple Facebook and Twitter accounts to one desktop application where you can post updates to all profiles, as well as view and respond to your friends' posts. This means no more logging-in to multiple social networking sites.
Also, sites like cotweet let you schedule updates in advance, so your profiles can be updated even when you're not online. This is a useful tool for all your road-warriors.
Check your ROI expectations.
Once you have a strategy in place, you'll no doubt be anxious to start seeing a return on your social media networking investment. It's very important to remember one thing: Networking takes time. Rather than expecting to see a surge in sales, you should hope to see people interacting with your brand.
Building relationships with people and credibility for your brand doesn't happen overnight.
If your network is a mile wide and an inch deep (meaning you've hoarded followers but they aren't engaged with your brand on a personal level), it will not be successful. Rather than a big pool of followers, it's important that you create a network of depth and meaningful relationships. You do this by being visible and engaging in conversations. Over time, these activities give you credibility; which in turn leads to building your brand and your sales.
Remember these helpful don'ts.
So, you've learned what you should do to carry out an effective and profitable social media campaign for your business, but there are also some things you should be sure to avoid.
Below are the five most common mistakes that people and businesses make when it comes to social media networking.
- Spending too much time on sites you enjoy and not fully evaluating whether or not that particular site is the most effective one for your efforts.
- Visiting a site for "work" and then running down rabbit holes, getting distracted by interesting posts.
- Not recognizing when it's time to delegate certain social media responsibilities to a consultant, agency, or simply another person.
- Setting up a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter page and then not keeping it populated--consistency and fresh content matter.
- Forgetting that social media is about engaging in the conversation and not just about selling.
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Article Tags: atomkeep, Facebook, ping, ROI, Social Media, Social Networking, tweetdeck, Twitter
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About the Author: Ivan R. Misner RSS for Ivan's articles - Visit Ivan's website Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder & Chairman of BNI, the world's largest business networking organization. BNI was founded in 1985. The organization has over 5,800 chapters throughout every populated continent of the world. Last year alone, BNI generated 6.5 million referrals resulting in $2.8 billion dollars worth of business for its members. Called the "Father of Modern Networking" by CNN and the "Networking Guru" by Entrepreneur magazine, Dr. Misner is considered one of the world's leading experts on business networking and has been a keynote speaker for major corporations and associations throughout the world. He has been featured in the L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times, as well as numerous TV and radio shows including CNN, CNBC, and the BBC in London. Dr. Misner is on the Board of Trustees for the University of La Verne. He is also the Founder of the BNI-Misner Foundation and was recently named "Humanitarian of the Year" by a Southern California newspaper. He is married and lives with his wife Elisabeth and their three children in Claremont, CA. In his spare time!!! he is also an amateur magician and a black belt in karate. Click here to visit Ivan's website   Specialists Win More Referrals Desperation Isnt Referable New To Networking No Problem 3 Common Delusions about Referral Sources Contacting Prospective Customers |
Related Forum Posts
Re: How can a social networking site make serious money?
- Hi There,
It is quite interesting, that some Social Networking do produce an income. I think testimonials are always a benefit to share. See one below:
This Social Network has changed my life! Every night is a Friday night and everyday is a Saturday!! Because of it, I have been able to leave the workforce 10 years early.It has given me back my life.
Many of us would like to retire early. I am sure there are many more. The point is of focusing with great determination. The ongoing challenge is to stay focussed and not be sidetracked into a newer scheme or so. Also I have read, during this financial turmoil, more people turn to Social Networking for various reasons.
Marketing 2012
- I am interested in what works for you in 2012, Social Networking, Search Engine traffic, Blogs, Articles, Forums, what?
This is a quote from a 2009 Topic "Twitter, Social Networking, What is your Method?
From my experience, social networking traffic (Twitter included) also converts at a far lower rate than search engine traffic. Evan
Is this still true, or do you use something that gives us better returns and conversions
Re: Marketing 2012
- [quote="drdony":2y0daolc]I am interested in what works for you in 2012, Social Networking, Search Engine traffic, Blogs, Articles, Forums, what?
This is a quote from a 2009 Topic "Twitter, Social Networking, What is your Method?
From my experience, social networking traffic (Twitter included) also converts at a far lower rate than search engine traffic. Evan
Is this still true, or do you use something that gives us better returns and conversions[/quote:2y0daolc]
Great question Don! I'll create a video reply!
Re: Tactics for Blog Traffic
- some more tips to drive traffic to blog or to promote a blog.
Squidoo Lens Creation
Hub Pages Creation
Social Bookmarking (Digg, Delicious, Stumble, Reddit etc.)
Be helpful in forums
Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, LinkedIn etc.)
syndication
blog commenting (other blogs)
Guest post
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas!
- GT - thanks for the FYI - I'm not sure if we'll put a link back. Something to consider though!
Trent - the new category is "Social Network and Media" which was put in to compliment the Online Businesses category that currently exists.
Overall the new categories are:
- Looking For, Networking and Events
- Review My...
- Social Network and Media
- Brags and Rants
These came as a result of Ringo doing research on other forums and thinking about what could be improved on ours to give a better experience for everyone. I hope you enjoy them! David, I'm looking forward to reading your Brag / Rant!
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