Charlotte Sometimes Blogs

social media online marketing is a idea you may have explored and is being greatly talked about on the Internet. Especially in big business arenas even showing up into corporate America and the Fortune 500 crowd.

It is not a new concept. The idea of socially networking and connecting with other people has been around since the dawn of time. It is even a fundamental driver built into our DNA that we are social creatures.

What is new are the various mediums where this type of communication can take place. And social networking is new to the web within the last two years and is still in its infancy.

There are certain manners you want to follow when playing in the social media space. Especially when you are there with purposeful marketing motives in mind.

Because this is a social space people don’t take kindly to blatant advertising messages which you normally see on places like TV and radio. These ad models have been dubbed “interruption marketing” because you’re watching a show or listening to a radio commentary and all of a sudden they take a break and a blatant advertisement is thrust right in your face.

The easiest way to get started with these various social media sites and blogs and social networking sites is to think about it like it’s an extension of any normal real world social situation you’d find yourself in. Imagine it like you’re going to a party where you don’t know anyone there.

Would you walk up to someone on the street who is a complete stranger to you and you didn’t know anything about them, would you just thrust your business card into their hand without saying a word to them?

Of course not. No sane person would do that because it will do you no good and just waste the resources you spent to create your business card and the money spent to get it printed out.

Yet I see the online equivalent of this foolishness daily when people send me a friend request with a blurb about joining their business.

Every time you talk to someone about your business you want to convert them into a member and have a high probability of converting them to a paying customer of yours. That’s the ultimate goal and everything else is pointless.

So how do you go about doing this with these various social media sites?

Much like you do at a party where you don’t know anyone you have to make introductions. With the social sites usually this involves making a friend request.

Normally, all you have to do is find some friends with similar interests in the business and market you’re in and click on a “friend” button.

The biggest mistake I see people making is just aimlessly sending friend requests. Like any marketing campaign you’re doing you want to go after people who are like you and have an interest in your topic because they will be likely to want to buy your products assuming you do a good enough job with the steps of the system to warm them up to buying your product.

No blatant sales pitches in this starting friend request. All you want to do is find groups and in most sites you can do a search to find groups which are interested in your market whether it be health, fitness, or even blue jeans lovers. There are also many business groups and entrepreneurial type groups if you’re in those markets.

Digg into groups on a same topic your business is in and start making friends with members of those groups. All you want to do is send a friend request telling them “hey I saw you in this group and wanted to be your friend”. Obviously, you include the group name and that you joined which they are part and you are also a part because that gives you a common link with them and they’ll be far more likely to say yes to the friend request and message they get from you which is the first step to being able to communicate with them.

This will give you a fast fresh beginning in your social media marketing quest. After you make and secure a few hundred friends then I’ll tell you the next step in this process which is sending them an introductory e-mail about yourself.