Should I automatically follow back? May 18, 2010

Ever feel like Twitter and Facebook are like a high school popularity contest?

At first, my quest was to have a high number of followers.
But, what was that going to do? Would it give me “guru” status?
I rethought my intentions.
I know there are opinions on this topic. Programs to buy that will help you generate a high number of followers as you randomly follow anyone just to get them to follow you back.
I think it’s all about Quality, not Quantity.

I saw that I was followed by a person that had thousands of followers, and he only had 23 Tweets.
So, I’m thinking to myself. WHAT are they following? He has no tweets- no content. And his few tweets were ads to his splash page. His link on his profile was to a general auto generated “info” page.
No thanks. I’m not interested. I want to network with REAL people.
I want real social interaction.

My advice is turn off “auto friend finder” and “auto follow”.
Dedicate an amount of time daily for some Social Media Time and work on finding REAL people you want to build a relationship with.
And you may want to inspect some of the folks that you “auto followed”.
I started going through mine the other day and was shocked to find a person that had vulgar postings. I do NOT want to be associated with someone like THAT!
I like having my small Tribe of folks – that I actually read their tweets and content…..because I can say that I have a quality list!

Why you should be branding you May 17, 2010

I know you’ve heard the buzz about branding yourself in Social Media Marketing. So, what the heck is it and how do you do it?

It’s a great question and has an easy answer. But you need to plan your strategy to reach your goals.
Building brand “YOU” is about introducing You first – and then your company and products second. People like to learn about people. So that is why it’s important to introduce and lead in with yourself. I can’t count the several times that I have looked at someone’s Facebook profile picture or Twitter link and it leads to their products or company logo. I mean seriously – are YOU really a vitamin, a cleaner or a weight loss product?

This tactic is a big mistake. And here is why. Let’s say Mary Wannabe is looking for some type of home business. One of the first things she does is meet Mr. Bob Big Mouth and he wants to “friend” her on Face Book and then spams her about his company, his products. He wants to chat every time he sees her online and asks her “are you making the money you want in your home base business”. He is with ABC Greatest Company. Ok, so by NOW, Mary can’t get far enough away from Big Mouth BOB and his business. She “unfriends” him and more than likely she is going to judge his “company” based on his actions. If THAT is how they train their distributors , then she wants NO part of THAT company.

Now, Mary browses to a Facebook Group and sees Ms. Gabby Grace giving great links, good conversation, starting great topic discussions good quality content and giving great advice to others struggling on their businesses, etc. But, when Mary clicks to Grace’s profile, it screams of XYZ company. She doesn’t see a name or a personal picture or anything that keeps her feeling good about you. Instead, she is now turned off because Grace = XYZ company.

Imagine a different scenario, though. Mary sees you on the group, interacting and providing knowledge. She begins to see you as a friend, maybe even mentor. She clicks to your profile. There is your name and picture, smiling at her; she links to your photos and sees you are a real person with a life. She links to your website which takes her to your blog, and perhaps a personal website where she reads more of your valuable content and gets a better idea of who you are. She clicks and see that you have a YouTube video posted.

Now she is more and more convinced that you are a person who can help her make the success she wants. She fills out one of your splash pages and fills out the info. She is already completely sold on you when she does this. After filling in the form, Mary is now a lead. You call her and start a great conversation about your business. So, now when you get around to telling Mary about your company she considers you a friend. You are nothing like Bob Big Mouth, and she has learned about YOU unlike being left in the dark with Grace.

So, when Mary is really ready to get started on her home business, she is excited to get started with your company, and working with you.

Can you see the difference? Mary is ready to work with YOU! She is excited to be coached by you and ready to be a part of your team. Your Company is part of the formula of forming the bond.

And this all started because you stepped above the norm and presented yourself as a professional – someone that could be trusted and would listen.

As you move forward in Social Media Marketing, I urge you to put your products and the company in the background. Connect with people and build relationships based on who you are as a person, coach, advisor since it IS all about SOCIAL NETWORKING!!