Facebook Love it or Hate it?

I have been invited to groups, to share applications and have received more friend requests then I can count.  To some I say yes, but to most I ignore… why?  Because the people who sent me those invitations have not bothered to:

1. Get to know me
2. Ask if it is something I’d be interested in participating in
3. See what my business is

Here in lies the fatal flaw of social marketing.  If you don’t do it well, you won’t succeed at all.

The same principles that one uses in face to face marketing are applied to marketing online. 

To succeed in Social Marketing you must:

1. Know WHO you serve best (your market)
2. Know where the people in your market live, hang out, gather, chill, chit chat, etc.
3. Get involved in the communities where your market exists.
4. Get involved in those communities  for the benefit of the community

To apply these techniques to Facebook:

1. Create a profile that is appealing to your market.
2. Search for groups where the people in your market interact.
3. Join those groups or create a group to attract those people
4. Create a page about your business
5. Invite people to look at or become a fan of your page
6. Put up posts on the Walls of those people who have shown interest in your business
7. Build relationships with those people

Your goal is not to jump up and down in front of as many people as you can to get their attention.  Your goal is to seek out the people who you will serve best and get to know them to ensure your service / product is a good fit for them.

If the fit is right, trust me, they will come to you!