Social Media For Marketing - Social Networking And Sharing!

A brief introduction of my friend that I first met on Facebook and now she is a guest writer on my blog. It is my privilege to direct your attention to her latest post today.
Please read this very informative post on Social Media and Networking!

So I give you LaTease Rikard, and I highly recommend that you connect with her by clicking the link at the end of this post.

LaTease says:
Sharing is caring, networking is sharing, so network sharing is caring about those whom you network with. This thought came to me because I had two really important business encounters this week that confirmed my thoughts on social media networking success. One of those encounters was with Robert Scoble he is a genius of a man when it comes to successful people connections. If you don't know who he is, then you really are missing out on the pulse of social media networking. The other encounter was with my client, Alabaster Treasure Chest We just secured a very lucrative contract with a local hospital gift shop here in St. Louis, all using the power of networking.

One thing we marketers strive for is to make social media connections that will turn into leads and then sales. In the process of doing this we sometimes forget how important it is to actually develop a relationship with people first, before we begin to sell them something. But, that concept is for another blog post :).

I want to talk about what I learned from Robert Scoble and my client this week.

Robert made a simple statement about how to get more followers on Twitter and more 'Likes' on Facebook. What he said was "if you want more followers you have to follow better people."

Think about that for a second. In social networking you are judged by the company you keep. So, if all your friends and followers promote and sell questionable products and services, and you are linked to them via networking, then what does that say about you? People make very quick decisions about others on the basis of who you know, what you know, and your appearance or presentation. In social networking your character is the only thing that will speak for you, because your profile is the only thing you have to flaunt. So you should concentrate on putting your best face on, because you may only get one chance to impress.

My client, Alabaster Treaure Chest really tested Robert's statement. One of her Facebook friends manages the hospital gift shop here in St. Louis, Missouri. This friend is also a loyal customer who loves the all natural products my clients creates because she can not use other bath and beauty products without suffering severe allergic reactions. During a staff meeting she was in the position to recommend a potential vendor who would be responsible for supplying body butters, lotions, aftershave splashes, and shower gels as products to be sold in the hospital gift shop. There was just one consideration, the products had to be all natural.

Well, you can see where I am going with this story. Because of the friendship developed in person and online, my client has just secured a very lucrative contract all based upon the social networking done on Facebook. Alabaster Treasure Chest doesn't have a lot of friends, which just goes to show you that the quantity of friends you have in social networking has nothing to do with the quality of those connections. It was the power of the connection along with a great product.

In theory, you can methodically utilize social networking by including optimization techniques like keyword analysis and SEO. But, the proof of those efforts will be how much of your efforts are resulting in money in your bank account? If your hard work is not generating a result, it may be time to rethink how you are connecting and communicating with people. It could be, they are ignoring you because you don't have anything to say to them of value. Create value which is beneficial to your friends on Facebook and your followers on Twitter, and I guarantee they will reward you.

Thanks for reading. I am a social media marketing consultant for small business owners specializing in Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube integration utilizing pictures with words. I'm on Facebook look me up maybe we can connect!

Check out LaTease's sites below:

The Power of Networking and Sharing

10 Ways to Groom Your Facebook Fan Page