Using Social Media to Build Your Business

 

 

Social media is all the rage on the Internet. If you don't have accounts on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn and a dozen others then you are behind the times. This is especially so if you are not using social media to expand your business.

Or is this all just a passing fad?

Well, history may have some lessons for us here. The radio, rotary-dial telephones (remember those?), television, personal computers, color monitors, cellular phones, the Internet itself – all these at one time or another appeared to be fads – toys for the government, big business, the rich or those infatuated with gadgets. Now we all have these so called gadgets and, truth be told, sometimes we wonder how we managed without them (which would be an interesting subject for a dissertation). The real lesson, from a business perspective, is that all the innovations in communication eventually became important marketing tools. The social media are simply the latest such innovation, and those who learn how to use them effectively stand to reap big rewards. In fact, this is already happening.

If you have a home-based business, or are thinking about starting one, then you cannot afford to ignore this phenomenon. This is especially true if your business is an MLM or network marketing business. It is certainly true that the traditional methods of growing such a business still work – at least as well as they ever did – but why pass up such an extraordinary way to take your message to thousands – maybe millions – of people you could not meet in any other way?

But where to start? It could take weeks to learn the ins and outs of just one of these – Facebook, for example – and even then you could miss some important features. Fortunately, this is not uncharted territory; lots of others have been here before you and have blazed a trail. That's the good news. The bad news is that lots of others have been here before you. Lots and lots. Many are willing to teach you what they know – or at least some of what they know – for a price, but, as in other things, they differ significantly in quality.

And there is a lot to learn. Blogging, domain names, SEO (what's that?), article marketing, backlinking, syndication tribes and more. Then all this has to come together smoothly. When it does, the magic happens, and that makes it all worthwhile.

Here's what to look for in a social media mentor:

• an established personal success record in social media marketing
• actively engaged in social media marketing right now
• show – not just teach – exactly what to do
• show – again, not just teach – exactly how to do it
• provide a step-by-step, day-by-day action blueprint for you to follow
• personally available to answer your questions – you're going to have them

How can you tell whether or not a prospective mentor meets these criteria? Talk to him/her on the phone in advance. Because if he/she is not available to you now, how can you be sure they will be available after you sign up? There should also be some free, up-front information and guidance to demonstrate the value of what's on the inside. Talk to others who are on the team. Are they experiencing success?

There is simply no question that your business can take off in ways you can hardly imagine once you start using social media marketing. After all, every business is a people business, and the social media really are the new commons, the place where the whole world – indeed, the entire known universe – gathers. Take this free 3-day video training “The Secrets Behind Social Media” as your first step in getting your message to the world.