Social Media Marketing

A large number of online traffic can be harnessed with the help of social media sites. Twitter, Facebook, Stumble Upon, YouTube, LinkedIn, and others are so popular with Internet users that they have become a great source of traffic for many website owners. YouTube and LinkedIn have already been covered in this eBook because of their extraordinary strength, but other sites can just as well become a staple source of traffic for your site.

Beware of the Number One Mistake
Before you get stuck into social networking, you need to understand one very important aspect of using these sites. These networks do NOT work for ALL types of websites!

If for example you have an Adsense site, you are much better served by using any of the other suggestions because social traffic is bad for this type of site. The click value is effectively minimized because social traffic is often untargeted.

On the other hand, social networking sites are great for people with specific products and services. Think about the type of people who use these networks?

That's right, everyone does: businesses, singles, professionals, kids, grandparents, parents, and many more. Fact is that you can leverage your website on these networks with a bit of planning.

Profile Magic
The first thing you need to do is to create a compelling profile. Personalize your profile with unique colors, themes and images. Make it sound fun, while keeping your professional image in mind.

Network with the Right Crowd
If you want to make an impact on these sites it is important to network with the right people. Ask yourself this: who is your perfect lead/visitor? Then go about capturing the attention of these people.

Mix it Up
Please don't use these sites to spam your marketing messages day and night. You will get better results with a mixture of personality and marketing.

Let your personality shine, show your network the real you, and intrigue them with fun, knowledge, free advice. Meanwhile throw in some of your marketing messages along the way.

Reach Out to the Community
In case you haven't noticed, social networks are about being social. This means that you should not just promote your own stuff all the time. Reach out. By promoting other people in your network you'll gain more credibility, respect, and ultimately more followers and traffic.

Don't Waste Your Time
Social networks can be massive time suckers. Trust me on this. It would help to plan your marketing strategy by allocating no more than 15-30 minutes each day. If you don't watch yourself, you are likely going to end up spending hours on those sites. This would then turn a potential great marketing method into a huge time suck.

Remember to Have Fun
People who allow themselves to have fun, achieve more in life. When marketing on social networking sites, don't forget to have fun. These sites are first and foremost about connecting with others, making new friends and letting your hair down a little. Having said this, be careful of what you publish, because once it is out there, you can't take it back!

Limit Your Networks
One of the best tips I can give you is to stick to a maximum of three networks. Choosing more is not recommended because you will get burned out trying to cook with too many pots.

You are much better served by participating on a lesser number of social sites as a regular member, than trying to join too many, and never update your status.