It’s Viral – for Better or for Worse

There is nothing new about networking as a savvy strategy to grow your business.

This is precisely why people attend meet-ups and join the Chamber of Commerce.

But the fact the practice is becoming so popular on the web is why it’s important you take the leap into social networking online so you can take advantage of this shift.

Because social media venues are easy to use and understand, even for people who are not technically talented, people are joining social networks in super large numbers – a trend that isn’t going away and gaining momentum!

Great.

Nice to know but …

Have you overcome the big challenge of developing a tactical plan of action for using social media effectively?

Took me a while to figure this out so let me see if I can help to shorten your learning curve.

Guiding principles for social media marketing – A tactical plan

It’s transparent – be who you are: No pseudonyms allowed and write in your own words.  Don’t be afraid to show a bit of your personal self and let your uniqueness shine through.  Being totally genuine will greatly increase your believability and earn you mounds of credibility.

It’s a conversation – join it: Only by joining in conversations can you hope to be influential in the hearts and minds of your prospects, customers, and clients.  Your brand is what “they” say it is, NOT what you say it is.

It’s personal – focus on the individual: Participation in social media venues, blogging communities, and other social sites is for the individual, by the individual.  Build your brand but don’t author your posts in the name of “Your Company”.  Social media is not the place for mass communications.

It’s viral – for better or for worse: One of the most attractive and effective elements of social media for online marketing is the viral effect.  Everyone is creating social campaigns hoping they will go “viral”.  But this can also work against you – just ask the executive caught bad-mouthing his company on a YouTube video!

Ouch.



  • LOL — and I’ll do the happy dance right along with ya, Martha!

  • Being authentic is the key. For social media and the web in general, it’s always good to think twice before putting something out there. Once, it’s there, it’s there. As for me? Anything that has my name attached that goes viral, I’m doing the happy dance!!

  • Thanks so much for your input, Leanne! And I know you are one busy lady whose juggling more than one website and keeping up with more social media than any three WAHM’s I know!

    I applaud you and I can tell you know your stuff when it comes to branding yourself and your businesses online. 🙂

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  • Fantastic post and great title! I agree about transparency, conversation and how it’s viral. I also agree that it’s personal and about the individual. I’ve branded myself online as myself and my business names but when I engage with people in blogging communities and on some social media sites, I post under my own name, or my own name as part of the company. On Twitter, with two of my businesses, I post as my company name, but it still all has a very personal feel to it.