It’s funny to think how much the world can change in five short years. Where there once was nothing, there now is a new form of media and marketing that is essential to the success of practically every business around. Social networking has been alive and well in one form or another since practically the dawn of time. Known originally as “word of mouth”, the internet has taken that word and turned it into a typed, emailed, posted, IM’d and tweeted message. These new social platforms have basically taken the world by storm and completely changed the way that we get the word out about just about everything. For a growing business, this makes becoming savvy about Facebook marketing more than just a novelty, but an actual survival skill.

Facebook was originally started as a sort of exclusive social networking site that was only for the students of Harvard. Created by students, for students, it gave them a place to connect with one another and exchange information and ideas. Before long there were new networks formed and more schools on board. Today, Facebook is open to anyone that is over the age 13 and is estimated to have over 350 million active users around the world. These users are organized roughly by the networks to which they belong, which can be regional, social, political, religious or any other number of things. Companies have networks for their employees, retailers have networks for their consumers, music artists and bands have networks for their fans. Regardless of who your target market is, there is a network for that, and each network connects with endless other networks, making Facebook Marketing a goldmine for getting your company name and image out there.

The beauty of Facebook of an online marketer is that word travels so quickly across it. If Jane becomes a fan of your company today, it will be posted on all of her friends’ news feeds, with a link to your company. Anyone of her friends that clicks on the link, and becomes a fan now has an update on all of their friends’ pages, who then, in turn click on the link and share your company name and info with all of their friends. Unless Jane and her friend are only friends with all of the same people, this can get information to literally thousands of people in less time than it takes to make dinner. Just think, you can be a nobody at lunch, but a super star by supper. Few other types of marketing can offer that. Facebook marketing has an incredibly wide reach.

So how, as a small business can you take advantage of the viral goodness that is Facebook marketing?   How can you translate the social networking giant into more click-thru’s and conversions for your site? Much like any independent person wanting to connect with friends, your first step is to join Facebook. Set up a page for your company. Give information about your company and make sure that you include your company’s homepage. Once your page is set up, you will need to start connecting with others. Search for networks that you think would be interested in what you have to sell or say, and join them. Set up your own page, if you do not already have one, and start finding friends. Once you have a good base of people, become a fan of your own company. This will post information about your company on every one of your friends’ pages.

With the great, unprecedented success of social media giants like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, there has been a huge, almost palpable shift in internet marketing priorities. More and more companies are placing more value and importance on their social media marketing than they are on even their search engine ranking.

Where SEO has been king in online marketing for the last several years, many businesses are now combining their search engine efforts with a well constructed Social Media Marketing campaign with powerful results.

Social media now has more than a half billion users between the various platforms available, making it one of the largest audiences available in the world. Smart marketers saw the explosive growth of this new form of communication and have already begun developing social media marketing best practices.

The most important thing to realize before engaging in any form of social media marketing is that you do not control the message. Much like a game of telephone, you get to make the original statement, but as it makes its rounds through the social network, it is the members that will cultivate and mold the message.

A smart social media marketer knows who their audience is, targets the correct networks and engages in a give and take dialogue with the members, shaping the message. For example, you may start a blog and post articles about products, practices or trends impacting your industry.

People may visit your blog and comment on it. The comments might not always support your view or your company. Rather than quashing those comments and keeping only the positive, it is smart to respond intelligently in the comments and allow a dialogue. Although you may not agree with all of the posters, the more posters that are there, the more people there will be that are learning about your company. And you might be surprised, you might learn a thing or two about your company or industry along the way too. This is one of the most important social media practices out there.

Another important thing to commit to before engaging in any social media marketing is that you must be honest about who and what you are. People are wise to companies trying to pose as multiple other personas who all claim to love “XYZ” company.

Be yourself, and be upfront about the fact that you are who you are. Trying to deceive a social network is almost certainly destined for failure and that failure may come at a much greater price than you can possible withstand as a business. When the internet turns on you, it is hard to get it to turn back! Companies that are upfront about who and what they are on blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites may grow more slowly, but that growth will be sustainable, and those “friends” and “followers” are not likely to turn on you for being you.

One final principle to remember in your social media marketing is that this is not normal sales. People don’t log into Facebook or read Twitter to have someone try and talk them into buying their kids the latest and greatest toys. They don’t want someone to start a chat with them that is a hard sell to switch cellular carriers. They come to have a place to connect with others who are likeminded – or even sometimes not so likeminded.

They want to be able to learn, and explore and discuss whatever is on their mind. By allowing your social network members to do just that, you are establishing a rapport that has not been seen between proprietor and customer since the days of the mom and pop shop.

It looks like so easy – click a few links and hey presto; you have a business or fan page on Facebook.

But then comes the tough bit,  you need to increase fans, keep them interested, get them to contribute, keep the page going on peak of all your other hard work, don’t let it get boring, not be too personality promotional,  How on earth can you think of all that and run your business?

Well, don’t be worry, here’s a rapid list of 10 tips you can post on your Facebook Fan page to keep it interesting and give confidence communication.

1: Questions:
Keep update your status every day, but rather than telling people currently what are you doing? Ask them a question daily. It’s clear by looking at the statuses of people on Face book (whether individuals or businesses) that asking a question gives a huge reply. Let your fans and contacts feel involved, you can ask them a question related to your business right now.

2: Videos:
It doesn’t even have to be your video, it could be a video from Google or YouTube, funny video related to your niche, or a music video if you like, but video can do more help than words sometimes do. If you have your own video, then even better; either way, break up the repetitiveness of your page with the odd video to remain things interesting.

3: Links on page:
You start a fan page to endorse your business, But people soon switch off if your page is nothing more than a catalog of links to your website, so show them that you’re not just in it for you. Post links to other websites, interesting blogs about your industry, funny stories, and news items. If some of these sites fit in to your fans too, then you’ll inspire faithfulness and may get the same in return.

4: Requests for more fans:
Don’t hesitate to ask your fans to use the ’share’ button or the ’suggest to friends’ link to share your page’s details with their Facebook friends. It may not have happened to them to do so, and if you don’t ask, you don’t get!

5: Links to discussions forums:
If your forum on your page isn’t getting the responses and traffic you want, it may be that visitors just are not noticing it, Post links to interesting discussions on your Fan Page wall and ask your fans to comment on them.

6: Photos and Images:
Once more, a good way to break up the persistent words of a fan page, photos and images tell your fans more about you and your business. Post photos of your premises, clients, products, services, charts, in fact whatever thing that you have that is related to your business.

7: Links to your web blog:
If you use web or Networked Blogs, you can do this repeatedly, but even if you don’t, when you post a new blog, link to it from your Fan page, give confidence comments and contributions, keep in mind, no asking, no getting.

8: Events:
Use the events label to place details of time responsive special offers, open days, launch days and more. It’s an frequently forgotten tab but can be very helpful if you think about it.

9: Notes:
The notes label can be used for lots of dissimilar things; small blog posts, testimonials, quotes,  whatever thing that is too big to be post as a status update. It is another way to add additional attention to your fan page

10: Say thanks to your fans:
If your fans are interacting, then it is worth taking the time out to post a public thank you to them every so frequently. You can do this by posting a status update. You could go one additional and present prizes or giveaways to a pair of fans per month, given to those who interrelate the most and the best.

So here you have it, a quick and dirty list of tips to remain your Facebook Fan Page interesting. Without interaction and interest, a page rapidly becomes nothing more than a list of links, with no inherent value at all. Do not let your Fan page fade away.

Do you have a blog?  If not, you really should.  There is not a better, more productive, wide reaching, and cost effective way to spread your message, build your brand, exclaim you rightful position as an expert in your field and start a meaningful conversation with your customers, prospects and raving fans than by writing a blog.

If you do have a blog, one of the very next steps, after writing some remarkable content and providing simple ways for readers to share and spread your message, is to “claim” your blog on Technorati.

Technorati is like Google for blogs.  A social media search directory. Hugely popular and extremely relevant.  How relevant?  Right now it tracks over 100 million blogs.

So the deal is, if you want to have your blog listed on Technorati, you first have to join (it’s free), and then you have to “claim” your blog.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Join Technorati by completing the sign up form and clicking Join. It only takes about a minute.
2. Your profile/account page will pop up next.   Take a few minutes and fill it out.  It’s only about 5 or 6 questions.
3. Upload a photo and also write a quick bio.
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and find where it say, “My Claimed Blogs.”
5. Enter your blog’s URL and click Begin Claim.
6. You’ll then get an automated email thanking you for submitting your blog claim.  The email will contain a claim token, something like:  DKPUSJD8283J.  There will also be a link for you to click on that contains more details on how to use the claim token.  The link just takes you to your account page.
7. The next step is to actually use the claim token by writing it in a blog post and publishing it.  This is their way of verifying you own the blog.
8. Once that’s done, go back to your account page and click the “Update Site Feed URL.”

That’s it, you should be good to go.  However, Technorati has recently updated it’s “claim” process so if you run into any problems (or if I’ve missed anything) please just let me know and I’ll be happy to help.

Now… go get your blog listed and tracked in Technorati, and you to can be one of the cool kids.

This is a very insightful question and there are a few ways to answer depending on the unique goals of the hiring company. Social media marketing is about engagement, participation, honesty and respect. But, from a more analytical and ROI point of view, it is also about a time versus money investment and balancing act.

Many companies want to get involved in social media marketing but simply do not have the time or expertise to engage in a well constructed SMM (social media marketing) campaign. They need help with the high level strategy and really determining what represents conversion and success for them specifically.

Therefore, I honestly believe either route can be productive and authentic if it’s carried out properly. The most important ingredients are genuine participation and the willingness to help your customers through great content and engagement without expecting anything in return.

If I am initiating a SMM campaign for a client, the first several steps are to conduct a tremendous amount of research and discovery, learning everything I can about the company and their customers and prospects. I will also ask them for as much content that they can possibly provide to give me a better understanding of what’s important to their audience. Only then can I begin to build a balanced SMM campaign that is true to the companies values and helpful to its audience.

The other approach, which I think is equally if not more effective, is to simply consult with a company regarding how social media truly works and how to make it a successful part of the overall marketing strategy. For many companies, not focusing on a product push first approach is very foreign to them.

Social media takes a different mindset than traditional media marketing and many businesses are initially uncomfortable and unfamiliar with the new rules of engagement at the onset.

In sum, both strategies have worked successfully. When considering a social media marketing campaign, a company needs to be honest and determine if they are willing to allocate the time and energy necessary to make the investment a success.

If, on the other hand, a company has the same goals and want to engage their customers and participate in the conversation but simply knows it does not have the time or expertise to carry out the campaign properly then it’s time to look to a consultant that can bridge the gap. My thoughts again are simply to make sure that the agency/consultant takes the appropriate steps in the beginning to become immersed completely in the company’s culture, goals, customers and competition before beginning and continues to stay on top of company happenings as the campaign continues.

Right, and you won’t.  There is an enormous difference between quantity vs quality in social media marketing.  The single biggest mistake you can make when you begin a Twitter account is to try to gain as many indiscriminate followers as possible.

Bragging rights do not contribute to your bottom line.

To be successful, first define what success means to you.  What are you trying to achieve?  What are your end goals?

Do you want to sell more products, drive more leads or RFI’s, bring awareness to a cause?  Excellent.  So, who do you want to follow you?

See, that’s the real question and what most people don’t think about.  Time and again, for example, I see people that sell boats with a 1000 followers in the boat selling business. Or, boat manufactures or boat accessory distributors.  Wrong people.  Easy followers to get but wrong audience.  A boat manufacturer is not going to buy any boats from you.

Who you need following you are boat lovers.  People that live on lakes and rivers.  Current boat owners. You get the idea. These people are prospective buyers.  If you find them, and they follow you, you’re half way there.

To get all the way there, you need to not try to sell them anything.  At least not right away.  The key is to offer your followers unique, interesting, quality, insightful, helpful content.

Some tips:

–Give away your expertise… your return will be far greater than what you are giving away.
–Don’t waste your follower’s time.  If you don’t even find your Tweets unique or interesting, why would the people following you?
–Be selective. To use our example, don’t retweet everything you happen to run across on boats.  Be a specialist. Be particular. Think like the reader.
–Remember you are competing with millions of other Tweeters out there. Some people get hundreds of updates a day.  How do your Tweets stand out.?   In a sea of non-stop Twitter updates, why is anyone going to stop on your name, or your update?   Why? Because you’ve earned their respect and attention through providing quality content.  They know you. They know you’re going to give them something good and not waste their time.
–It’s perfectly ok to promote yourself and your products and services.  But, not until you’ve earned the right to do so.  Give, then get.  Rembember Zig Ziglar’s Golden Rule:  Just help enough other people get what they want and you’ll get what you want.  When you do point people back to your products, the best way is through offering specials, sales, clearance, coupons, limited time deals, etc.  Make it special and exceptional.  Make it exciting!  Not just, we sell boats so for the hundredth time here’s a link to my home page, come check it out.  One method works. The other just turns off your followers.

In sum, look for followers for which you fill a need.  Then fill the need.  That’s it, happy tweeting.