Sure you took the time to create your network. Maybe you even updated and interacted for the first couple of months. However, if you have stopped updating and interacting you may be sending a worse message to your customers than if you had not started with social media in the first place. When it comes to your outdated or inactive social sites you have 2 choices: 1). Start to take time to update and interact, or hire someone who can do it for you. 2). Shut it down. Don’t wast your time or your customers time with an inactive and non-value added network. You are simply making your company look bad so you might as well take down your page so you don’t send the wrong message to your fans and followers.

You only sell sell sell. Never adding value.

When all you do is push your own products and services your fans and followers will get board and block you. If you want to succeed in social media you need to create value for your followers. Encourage them to post and engage with each other and your company on your network pages and help them. The more helpful you are the more likely they will use your company when they need your products or services. When it comes to pushing your products and services it’s always best to go by the 80/20 rule. 80% value added and conversational and 20% sales.

Not putting social media buttons on your website.

Sure you say you want to be involved in social media. Yeah you want to engage your followers and fans in new and innovative ways. So if that is the case why are you making it so hard for your customers to find you on the social networks they enjoy? Many people will go to a company’s website looking for directions to the Facebook page, blog, and Twitter page for that company. They want to see what you are all about, see what others are saying and see if they want to do business with you. When you do not have those links/icons on your website you are making them work and people do not like to work to find you. Make it easy on them and on yourself. If you are using social media to market your business, go ahead and add the icons and links to your website.

Not listening or interacting with your fans and followers.

If all you do is post and sell and pitch and auto post then you are missing out. Take the time to engage your followers by checking in daily or at the very least weekly and talk with your fans. Thank people for comments and likes and ReTweets and blog comments. Encourage conversation. Ask questions. Be engaging. Be real. People are far more likely to do business with people they like and trust. Build the trust by being active and real.

Don’t use email to help build your social media following.

So you took the time to set up your Facebook page but now you are wondering how to get fans and “likes.” Start with the people you already do business with and send out an email. Introduce your new page to your email database and think about offering an incentive.  “Like us on Facebook and we would like to give you 10% off your next purchase/service” or something like that should do the trick. Also be sure that anytime you send an email that you invite people to share it on the social networking and invite them to like you on your Facebook page or follow you on Twitter.

1. I really am a social media geek!

2.. 76% of marketers are using 4 hours a week on social media marketing.

3. Email marketing is not only AWESOME but necessary!

What will email do for you?

• Boost repeat biz
• Create and increase awareness
• Drive revenue and profits
• STAY TOP OF MIND

4. Nutshellmail.com is a great way to bring all the updates and gib gib jab of social media together in one convenient email. Check it out. It is pretty cool and it’s FREE. http://nutshellmail.com/

5. If you are an outlook user you need to check out http://www.xobni.com/. This is a tool that will help integrate social media into your email as well as keep track of how you email and statistics about who you email. Just check it out…If you are on outlook you will love it! I am waiting patiently for them to come up with a mac version…

Businesses and high profile folks who rely on their image to make money should be especially careful when they post, since their image is on the line. Here is an example of what NOT to do:

When buffalo Bills’ wide receiver Stevie Johnsons missed a potential game winning throw (and an easy one at that) against the Steelers he did not put the blame on himself but instead decided to take it up with God on Twitter. He tweeted:

Sure he eventually took it back and said he was joking…my guess is that his publicist was all over him for potentially hurting a wholesome image with such a stupid comment.

Just remember to read through your post before you push submit. This alone can save you from an image/PR crisis.

Mom was right even in today’s cyber age: If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Remember it is your image on the line!

There is no magic number for how many fans you should have. Each business will be different. With most things, the more fans you have the more interaction and participation you will see so aim to work on increasing fan following over time at a steady pace. The only real milestone is when you hit 100 fans. At 100 fans you will be able to create a custom url for your fan page so it will be easier to share on print material. As for where you find new fans, you will need to do a few basic things:

• Be sure a facebook icon is on your website with a link directly back to your fan page.
• Be sure to include your facebook link/icon on all your other marketing material.
• Become active in the community and ask your current fans to share your page with their friends.
• Have a contest/promotion for your Facebook fans and encourage your customers to become friends to participate. Why not have a monthly drawing for dinner for two or a gift card or do a drawing for the first 100 fans or something similar.
• Send out an email to your customers (if you have a subscription list) inviting them to become a fan.
• Launch a targeted Facebook ad to promote your fan page or your website.

A fan page (also known as a business page) gives business’s the opportunity to interact and share content with customers and fans via their wall. They cannot, however, access information about their fans like you can when you are an individual with a profile. Businesses are not allowed to create profiles under their business name, this is in direct violation with Facebook’s polices.

From Facebook’s Official Policy: Facebook profiles are meant to represent a single individual. Organizations of any type are not permitted to maintain an account under the name of their organization. We have created Facebook Pages to allow organizations to have a presence on Facebook. These Pages are distinct presences, separate from user profiles, and optimized for an organization’s needs to communicate, distribute information/ content, engage their fans, and capture new audiences virally through their fan’s recommendations to their friends. Facebook Pages are designed to be a media rich, valuable presence for any artist, business or brand.

Branding.

Facebook is a great way to get your name and brand out there to a public that may not have heard of you before, not to mention the folks who do know you. The more consumers see your name and logo in the media whether it be traditional marketing outlets or online thorough social means you are increasing your top of mind brand awareness.

Relationship Building.

Facebook allows businesses and customers to communicate in a way that they never were able to before. You are now able to ask your customers questions, see how they interact with you and with others and it allows you a new outlet to resolve conflict if necessary. Facebook creates endless opportunities for you to build lasting mutually beneficial relationships with your clients.

Lead Generation.

There are a plethora of consumers out there that want to buy from you but may not know it yet. As you become more active on Facebook you will draw in more and more “fans” that will recommend to their friends and family to become “fans” of your page as well. They will learn more about you and will be more likely to buy from you.

Search Engine Optimization and Website traffic.

The more you participate in the social-sphere you will find that your website will increase in traffic. Because search engines are not indexing social sites you can come up in online search results based off of the activity you take part in on sites like Facebook. More traffic means more sales in most cases and in the end what do you have to loose?