In a move to make the user experience more relevant, Facebook made a number of sweeping changes last week.  I am going to be highlighting and explaining the major ones over the next few weeks.

For now, I want to make sure you are getting everything you want.

In regards to your News Feed, that is…

Beginning last week, Facebook automatically changed everyone’s settings on their News Feeds.  The default setting is now set so you only get information from those you are interacting with regularly or lately.

Honestly, this is really brilliant.

This intuitive design customizes our Facebook experience to be most relevant to us.

HOWEVER…

Facebook has no idea what we use their platform for or what our needs are.  They are assuming what we want based on our most recent history.

But they should know that the immediate past doesn’t always equal the future.

If it did, we’d all be on TheFacebook right now or on some Harvard Dating Site.

So, if YOU want to control what shows up on your News Feed, here is what you need to do.

Go to your Home Page.

Go to Most Recent (which is right next to Top News).

Click the Pull Down Menu and click Edit Options.

You can either receive updates from:

“Friends and pages your interact with most” or

“All friends and pages”

Trust me, this won’t be the last change…but for now, you know how to take control back.

Happy Networking.

Jodi Black Stott…this is all about YOU!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Get Jiggy With It!

Everyone here knows I write a lot about Facebook. I do that because I generate a pretty substantial amount of my new business through this massive social networking platform.

If you have been paying attention at all over the last few months, you will have noticed those little ads down the right side of your profile. All of these ads are showing up based on information you have put in your profile.

They are all targeted to you based on your interests.

This is very similar to the sponsored Google ads that show up when you search for something.

If you market anything online or have any sort of a business to promote…this is something you should check out.

Why?

Because you can generate high quality, targeted leads for your business/product for very, very reasonable rate.

A colleague of mine, Jonathan Budd, is an online genius. Style-wise, we are very different, but he is as good as they come online and he has created some phenomenal products.

This is one you need to check out:

Get Traffic 3.0

This is A to Z on Facebook Advertising.

Facebook is quickly becoming the largest search engine in the world and you want to know these strategies in order to capitalize on this platform.

Honestly, I have made a little money with Facebook advertising…but I found it really difficult to get the ads I wanted approved.

You need to know the in’s and out’s to save time and money.

Jonathan’s course is that and so much more.

Get Traffic 3.0

Go check it out now…I am anxiously awaiting the launch.

Game on!

This is a product you also want your top leaders to have…if you want them to increase their leads.
Get Traffic 3.0

Facebook should be a part of any social media marketing campaign.  It’s a marketer’s wet dream.  Seriously.  It’s a rapidly growing, globally accepted, highly targetable, infinitely searchable, ridiculously viral, widely customizable platform that just keeps getting better and better (okay, this last part is debatable, but it still rocks).

Do I sound like I am a Facebook fan?

Here are the quick facts (as of June 2010)…

• Over 400 million users (massive reach)
• Half of all users log in every day (consistent exposure)
• Average user has 130 friends (word of mouth, viral)
• Over 500 billion minutes a month logged (loyalty to platform)

As with every great invention, some people choose to use it properly and professionally while others misuse it entirely.  But you know what they say about money…it just makes you more of what you already are.  This is true about Facebook marketing as well.

If you were a spamming, inauthentic, disgusting marketing jackass before…well, Facebook can help you propel yourself to become a intergalactic marketing jackass.   Everyone learns essential ingredients for authentic living like integrity, character and value in their own time.

When a platform like Facebook is developed…both leaders and scavengers will emerge.  Fortunately, if you know what to look for, scavengers are easy to find.  Our new world of social media is wonderfully transparent and all you have to do is sniff around for value first marketing.  You’ll rarely find scavengers lurking in those circles.

Okay, let’s get onto the list of ways to leverage the power of Facebook.

1. Be Real – I know this sounds simple, but if everyone was authentic 100% of the time, the world would be a very difference place.   Most people, whether they know it or not, long for substance – in people, businesses and experiences.  Don’t ever try to be something you are not. This doesn’t fool anyone and will weaken your brand over time rather than strengthen it.

If you are brand new to online marketing, don’t say you are an internet marketing coach or expert.  It would be better to say that you are an Expert Resource…because you will simply be providing people with other people’s knowledge.  Always put your best foot forward, but just make sure it’s your own foot.

2. Lead With Value – I am putting this one here up front because this strategy, along with #1, is the basis to everything you will ever do in social media.  Over-deliver value…this should be your mantra.  My core intent with this article is to provide you with real value.  If providing you will value ever turns into business for me, then that’s great…but my goal is to provide pure value for you.   I believe strongly in Universal Laws like the Law of Reciprocity…so I will consistently provide free content to add value to people’s lives.

Think about what you can give that other people want.  Think about how you can make other people’s lives better.  Think how you can help solve their challenges.  If you become THAT person for people…you’ll have more business than you can imagine.

3. Pimp Your Profile – If you are going to use Facebook for marketing…then think like a marketer.  Develop a message for your profile that is interesting, relevant and powerful.  If you are in a business like network marketing, then YOU are your brand.  Think about the talent and skills you bring to the world, think about your experience and results, think about the resources you provide and craft a compelling message that pulls all of that together.  Keep it simple, but make it powerful.

Facebook gives people a 360 glance into your world.  They can learn about you, your interests, your business, your family and your social circle.  For me, this is an important part of who I am…therefore I showcase it all.

#1 and #2 here in this list should be your guiding force behind developing #3 on this list.  Yes, stories sell…just make sure the stories you are telling are true.

4. Network – Think of Facebook as a massive global networking event.  There are people everywhere, hanging out in groups, discussing various topics and going to different events.  If you were at a live event like that and wanted to network, what would you do?

You would get off your butt and go meet people.  Well, it’s no different on Facebook.

Use the Facebook search feature to find things you are interested in.  Search for groups related to your niche and join them.  Make friends with people in those groups.  Get out there and mingle, connect and start building relationships.

5. Build Key Relationships – If Facebook is a massive global networking event then it makes sense that there are likely people in the room that you’d want to make sure you meet.  In Facebook’s case, there are thousands of those people throughout various niches.

Invest a little time doing some research and find out who some of the movers and shakers are in your niche or niches.  This may be a little tricky at first, but you’ll get the hang of it.  Don’t be fooled simply by large friends lists.

Social networking is all about creating dialogue.  Someone may have 3,000 friends, but check out their posts.  If their posts are landing on deaf ears (meaning no one is “liking” them and no one is commenting on them)…this person isn’t influential.  Essentially…they are on stage talking to a room of 3,000 people who are all sleeping in the audience.

Additionally, many savvy marketers focus far more on their groups and pages than their personal profile.  With a little effort, you can find some key people in your niche.  Invest your time to build relationships with these people first. (Hint: #1 and #2 are the keys to these people friend’ing you.)

6. Start Groups – Facebook has millions of groups covering millions of topics and areas of interest.  From a marketing perspective, why would you want to start a group?

The obvious reason is that you are targeting people with specific areas of interest to talk with on a consistent basis.  But the not so obvious reason is to preserve your social currency with your contacts and friends.  Just because someone becomes your Facebook friend doesn’t mean they want to hear all about your business all the time.  Inviting people to opt-in to a group will solve that issue.

• Group Rules: See tips 1-5.  Use each of these strategies when crafting your group.  Be real, provide tons of value before asking people to buy anything, craft your group page, photo and name to be enticing and relevant, try and partner with key influencers and communicate frequently.
• Most importantly though…make your group interesting to be a part of.  Share some real value.  Again…if you become THAT person…new business won’t be an issue.

7. Slow Down To Go Fast – In our world that is changing so rapidly, everyone wants things instantly.  I want it all and I want it now…this is true for so many people.  I can relate.   In my opinion, you would be best served to switch that philosophy to “I want it all and I want it to last forever.”

Thinking about your long-term strategy, brand and goals will greatly influence how you choose to participate in the world.  This is true in life as well as social media.

If you wanted to create a long-term relationship with a significant other, you likely wouldn’t be trying to meet people with the goal to see how fast you could get them to sleep with you.  You would take time to genuinely get to know them, find out what they are all about and look for ways you can support them.

How does this relate to growing your Facebook presence?

Simple.

When you request someone’s friendship, take a minute to go on their profile and learn something about them.  Do the same thing when someone requests your friendship.

Write EVERYONE a short, interesting note.  Remember, social networking is about creating dialogue.  Get the dialogue started right away.

Trust me, if you do this, you are differentiating yourself from 99% of the people on Facebook.  You are standing out from the crowd.

Build relationships and add value and the money will follow.

Other Advanced Strategies

8. Integrate With Other Platforms – If you have a website, a blog, a Twitter account, a YouTube account and/or any other social networking or web platform…make sure all of your accounts are talking to each other.  You want to make sure if someone finds your blog, they can easily link to your Facebook profile.

Put your social networking links everywhere you can and if you have a blog, put your blog url everywhere you can.  There are hundreds of social bookmarking sites and although you don’t need to focus on all of them, every time you create a profile on one and list your website, you are creating a backlink to your site.  The search engines love this.

Create some consistency within your brand.  If at all possible, make sure your make social media platforms all have the same account information.  Try to avoid being MaryJo on Facebook, SocialDiva on Twitter and PowerMarketing on YouTube.  Be you everywhere.  (Remember tip #1)

9. Add An Opt-In Box – You can do this to your profile and to a fan page (see #10).  This provides yet another opportunity for your Facebook friends to join your main mailing list.  If you aren’t building a list yet, you may think this doesn’t apply to you.  But honestly, if you aren’t building a list yet…what the heck are you wait for?  Get over to Aweber right now and get an account.

Moving social media connections to your main list should be one of your primary goals.  Once on your list, you can provide massive value in a very targeted way which will allow you the opportunity to really grow and anchor your relationships with the people who are attracted to you and your brand.

Just do a quick search on FB for Profile FBML on how to add an opt-in box to your profile page if you want me to walk you through the basics.  It’s really very easy and I have virtually zero web development experience and am not technical at all.

10. Start A Fan Page – As you get closer and closer to the 5,000 friend limit Facebook has, you will need another place to put people.  Honestly, if you know you are in this for the long haul, you should consider starting your fan page much, much sooner.

A fan page provides significantly more flexibility and essentially allows you to create your own website inside of Facebook.

If found this article online or on my blog, head over to my Fan Page to check it out.   If you haven’t yet, click “like” on my page (that’s Facebook’s new term for being a fan).

If you want a groovy custom design like mine, check out Brian Hanson at http://customtwit.com.  He absolutely rocks.

These are 10 really core principles and tips for enhancing your online brand and starting to do business through Facebook.  There really isn’t anything on this list that you shouldn’t be doing.  These are all fundamental…they aren’t options, they are necessities.

Let’s get working.  Game on!

For more strategies like these, join my mailing list.  Take action now.

Facebook is now one of the most powerful social networking platforms on the planet.  So powerful that they registered more searches in March 2010 than Google.

Yes, you read that correctly.

If you want to do business through this incredibly viral, wonderfully targetable, highly searchable social platform…you need to at least learn some of the basics to get started.  In this video, which I originally posted through Facebook as a welcome gift to new friends, I cover 3 simple yet powerful strategies that make a world of difference.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Don’t be that guy!

Everyone has seen him/her many times on Facebook.  He’s the one breaking all of the unwritten, unspoken rules of Facebook etiquette.

Perhaps he just didn’t pay attention in class.

In the first article in this series, we covered why Facebook can be a goldmine for you for building relationships, attracting new customers and new business partners.

We went into a few simple Facebook Do’s.

Now it’s time for the Facebook Don’ts.

Don’t spam people’s walls – I wrote an article a few months ago that I called Social Media Date Rape…because that’s what these people are like.  They become your friend and before establishing any value or building any sort of relationship they plaster their link to their business on your wall.

Get off my F’ing wall, man.  I have lots of friends on Facebook and I do a lot of business through my site, so my profile is like one of my stores, essentially.  Would you walk into someone’s place of business and hang a banner for your business on their wall.

Of course not, it’s absurd. Don’t be that guy!

But social media miscreants do it all the time.  Like I said, get off my F’ing wall.

This goes for groups too.  If you haven’t communicated with the group administrator and built a relationship or found out what the group rules are, then you shouldn’t post anything promotional.  Just use your head and be in integrity.

Don’t insta pitch people in chat/email – It’s really the same as above, but somehow people think that if they are sending you an email or a chat window, it’s somehow okay.  Again people, build relationships.  Stop being so short sighted.

Don’t use crazy pictures as your profile photo – I covered this a bit in Part I, but wanted to expand on it here.  Here’s a short list of how to have no business friends.

Now, these are all friends of mine, but they need some help optimizing their Facebook profile.  If you have any of these as your profile photo, well, I am just sayin…

Logo Man

I know this guy is promoting his business, but people do business with people.  Build a relationship and trust in YOU as the voice of the business.

Mr. or Mrs. No Face

I know we are all busy, but if you can’t take the time to even upload a picture, why would I want to take the time to accept your friend request?  Red is a good look though, right?

The Cartoon Guy

I went to high school with Che and I doubt he is using Facebook for business, but he isn’t the only one that does this.  People everywhere do it and wonder why they aren’t building their friends list.  I mean, everyone likes snoopy, right?

The Under-ager

Hey, I love my son with every fiber in my body, but you know where pictures of Brennan go…in an album, not as my profile picture.  Maybe I am wrong.  Maybe this is this girl’s profile.  Kids are techno-wizzes these days!

The Pet Guy

Scott is a new friend of mine and I told him I was going to use this image of his dog, Jack. But seriously Scott, give Jack a nice bone and put him in a nice album that he can call home and get your personal photo back up.

There you have it, a few nuggets for you.  Stay away from this Facebook don’ts and you’ll be just fine.

If you haven’t read Part I of this article, go check out the Facebook Do’s.

Can you really use Facebook to grow your MLM business?  To do it, do you have to be one of those annoying “in your face” marketing tactics?  Can you effective use the power of Facebook and still keep your dignity and integrity?

The answer is yes, you can.  You can build a massive business with Facebook while growing friends and not alienating people.  You can do all of those things if you use Facebook properly.

Let’s start by talking about why you would want to use Facebook to attract people to your business.  I remember just 2 years ago when I was telling a friend how I was using Facebook to build relationships and grow my business he said, “Facebook, what are you 12?”

The climate has changed a bit since then, hasn’t it?

Here is the breakdown of why Facebook is one of the most phenomenal marketing arenas in the world.

1. Market - there are over 400 million users (growing by 300,000+ per day)
2. Extremely targeted – people tell you what they are interested in
3. Clusters – like-minded people gather in groups and through fan pages
4. Organically Viral – everything anyone does shows to all of their friends in their news feed
5. Exposure – the average user spends 55 minutes a day online and has 130 friends
6. Connection based – what I mean by that is Facebook is set up for people to reach out to each other.  People WANT to connect and share information.  This is the basis of all social media.

As a marketer, those bullets above should make you drool.  They represent a marketers dream come true.  It’s one place that you could literally drive all of your business from.

Now that you know WHY you should be using Facebook, let’s talk about HOW you should be…and while we are here, let’s also talk about how NOT to use Facebook.

Facebook being the 800-pound gorilla of social media platforms, it follows the same intelligent guidelines as others, but as we know, people aren’t always intelligent.  The sheer potential for marketers outlined above is enough to make the less tactful and principled marketers come out of the woodwork.

Don’t be one of those people.  It will cost you in the long run.

THE FACEBOOK DO’S

1. Relationships – Set your intention and goals when starting your Facebook campaign that you are there to build long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with people.  You are there to connect, to provide value in the marketplace and actually get to know people.

Facebook is completely transparent.  If your goals are not congruent, marred with self-serving actions or inconsistent…people will know.  Just be smart and be real.  In today’s world of social media, good news and bad news travels very fast.

2. Optimize your profile – if you truly want to use your profile for business, then you need to make it reflect your brand.  This doesn’t mean that you need to remove all of the personal information, quite the contrary, but you do need to be conscious of it.

If there are photos of you from Mardi Gras “getting your beads on,” you may want to think twice about that.  If you are constantly sending pillow fights, horoscope info, pixie dust and fairy godmother apps to people, you may want to shift the use of your time.

Sit down and spend some time crafting your message.  What do you want people to know about you and your business.  You need to connect people to you as a person and you as a business leader.

3. Profile Photo – I see this so much it needs it’s own bullet point.  If you really want to build relationships based on trust and mutual respect, you need a good picture where people can clearly see your face.

This is the number one reason people accept friend requests.   Get a good, professional photo.  At the very least, get a really clear, well lit one.

I know you love your kids, but don’t use them as your profile pic unless you are in it.  (more on this later)

4. Share relevant and purposeful content – yes, occasionally we will care if you just dropped the kids off at school or that you just got out of the shower, but we don’t need a play by play of stuff that is meaningless

5. Strategically grow your friends list – there are two ways to go about growing the number of friends you have on Facebook…randomly or strategically.  Since we are talking about business, let’s choose strategically.  Random is generally not a good strategy for business.

Decide what your interests are and what niche your business is in then seek out Influencers in those markets.  Find groups that are of interest, join the group and reach out to the administrators and officers of that group to build relationship with them.

6. Join the Conversation – Social media is, after all, about being social.  Go engage with other people and comment on their stuff.  “Like” their post if you like it.  Forward their dialogue.  Help them, genuinely.  Be of service.

Recommend friends & invite people to groups.  Be that connector and facilitator of relationships and you will be rewarded time and again.

7. Broker Your Time – You may have heard Facebook referred to before as “Crackbook,” because of its addictive nature.  If the ‘average’ user spends 55 minutes a day on it, imagine what some people are doing.  You need to be very strategic (there’s that word again) with your time or you will find yourself sucked into an endless world of comments, pokes, applications and notifications.

By all means, if you also use Facebook to forward personal relationships, knock yourself out.  Just be clear about what you are doing so your business goals don’t get lost in a pillow fight.

I said I was going to get into Facebook Don’ts in this article, but it’s already long enough, so I broke it into another article.

For all of the (or at least some good ones) Facebook Don’ts, check out Part II.

It can’t just be all fun and games.

Or can it?

Poker Training Network will be the first network marketing company to launch a fully integrated social networking gaming site through Facebook.

We have all seen the invites through Facebook. Our friends hit us with offers to play with them in Farmville, Mafia Wars and Zynga Poker. Some people hit delete, but millions accept and are engrossed in these play environments.

Yes, I said millions. Farmville currently has 80 million weekly users and Zynga Poker just went over 27 million weekly users and they are growing by astronomical numbers. People love this stuff. Playing with animals, raising their friends all-in, accumulating chips…they can’t get enough of it.

A number of MLM companies have tried to force their way into the social media world but most have been rather unsuccessful. Pre-Paid Legal launched Blastoff with very limited success and although PeopleString has gotten some legs, it will never be a Facebook.

The reason these campaigns have failed to gain market share is that they are self-serving. They were created and are developed to benefit the company who made them. There is very little, if any, real benefit to the average consumer unless they are a distributor for the company.

Poker Training Network (PTN) will break through all of that by creating a true online gaming experience to rival Zynga Poker. Their game room is cleaner, full screen, easier to use, has more features and since PTN is a poker training company, their free game will even include a training component for people to get better at playing the game they enjoy so much.

Poker Training Network has a real shot at picking up millions of poker enthusiasts who are looking for a better platform than Zynga. And they have a shot to do this very quickly.

Keep in mind, Zynga Poker just launched in July 2007. That’s almost a million users acquired a month. What will happen when people learn there is a better option?

What does that mean for Poker Training Network affiliates?

It means a lot.

It means a PTN affiliate can simply invite their Facebook friends to play poker for free in a fun, interactive, completely non-confrontational way. Every network marketer knows the inviting people (marketing) to take a look at your product or business is the most challenging part for the majority of people in the industry.

PTN has created the softest, “try it before you buy it” approach in the industry. For the average MLM rep who may be a little hesitant to approach people they know with their business, this is a slam dunk for them.

For market leaders, think about this for a moment. As you build your business and grow your team to 500, 1000 and 5000, 20,000 people…think how many people will be playing poker in the free game room that are attached to people in your group.

What if the average Facebook user only has 100 of their friends registered to play? With a group of 5,000 affiliates, that would be 500,000 people being exposed to your business every week.

It’s like having a farm team for new affiliates.

Users of PTN’s Facebook gaming site will learn about PTN, their products and will be exposed to ads promoting the business. The user will be coded and linked to the referring affiliate. If they click on a banner and decide to join, they go right into the referring affiliates business.

The potential is mind blowing.

There is no other network marketing company that could do something like this. Seriously, what Facebook application would they create? A game that sends people on a quest to find the best Acai berry in all the land? The journey of the magical fruit juice?

Sounds fun doesn’t it? Not!

Poker is the 3rd most watched sport on TV in the US and the fastest growing sport. It’s here to stay. People play for free online, in pubs, at home and pay to play online and at casino’s all over the world.

What do all of these people have in common?

They have a desire to get better at the game.

Can you really play your way to wealth?

With Poker Training Network, it sure looks that way.

If you want to learn what my team is doing to create success in the Poker Training Network, get in touch with me today.  I am looking for leaders who want to grow a massive business with the global trend.

Remember high school? For some people it was at absolute blast and for others it was four years of torturous hell. For most people it was some of both.

What I remember most about high school was the feeling of not quite fitting in. I was popular and all and had many external successes, but as you know, our mind often creates an entirely different reality.

I spent a lot of energy trying to be like other people that I thought were cooler, better looking, smarter, funnier, had a better body…you fill in the blank.

It wasn’t until years later as I dove into personal development work that I found out many, many people experienced very similar things. Like me, tons of people lived (and are still living) through comparing themselves to others.

What’s the deal with that?

It’s fricken exhausting, isn’t it?

Why do we run from our own self-expression?

Many people have been doing it their entire lives.

At some level, many people would rather imitate others than just be who they are, as if somehow, the knock-off version of someone else is better than the original version of themselves.

From a business and marketing perspective, this is a slow death. It would be easy to say that this happens because we teach people to model successful people. We say to find someone that has what you want and model them.

Doing what successful people do is certainly a way to success, but unless you model successful habits while developing your authentic self-expression, it’s easy to lose yourself in the process.

Is success worth it if you are just a carbon copy of a bunch of other people?

I think this is one of the big reasons people fail in this world. They don’t trust themselves.

I can speak from personal experience that I have had many incredible ideas that I stuffed away for fear of whether they were good enough, only to act on them years later when I got the balls.

Waiting doesn’t work.

Filtering your ideas against what the rest of the world is doing only dilutes your value.

Vanilla is a pretty boring flavor.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
- Howard Thurman

Yes, come alive.  That is it.

When it comes to marketing, blogging, copyrighting and presenting your business…sure there are some fundamentals that you want to learn and put in place, but nothing and I mean nothing, can replace your spirit.

If all of your articles, posts and blogs read just like a hundred other people in your niche…why would anyone follow you?

Be fricken original.

We see this all the time online. People model others but forget to make their work their own. The result is bland, boring copy.

Don’t be that guy.

Find your sweet spot. Identify what really lights you up.

Then, focus on letting your own light shine instead of trying to borrow a tiny bit of someone else’s.

“There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.”
- Martha Graham

So, my dear friends, it’s time to get jiggy with it. Go get your freak on! Your authentic, true to yourself, completely original, flava boiling over…self-expression.

Choose today, right now, to do ONE THING that celebrates your self-expression. Let the tiger (or tigress) out of the cage. We want to hear you roar.

It’s time the world sees what you (the one and only you) are really made of.

Please comment if you connected with this post and tweet/re-post to your heart’s desires.

Do you want to know how to stand out in the crowded world of social networking?

Would you like to develop a friends list that actually wants to hear what you have to say?

Today’s technology driven world moves incredibly fast and the vast majority of people are on autopilot experiencing information overload.  We see friend and follower requests, we add them.  We scan RSS feeds, status updates and tweets.  It’s daunting to keep up but it’s all the more reason to make an effort to do so.

Here are a few simple practices that will leave you forever imprinted in an amazing light in the hearts and minds of your connections.

1. Take time to write a short note to new friends

Almost no one does this and less do it with consistency.  It shows care and interest and it shows (whether it’s true or not) that you have some interest in actually getting to know them.  Of course, it’s significantly better if you actually do.  Do you want to hit a grand slam?  Actually go and read their profile first and make a comment that is personal to them.  Whatever you do, be authentic in your communications, the social web can sniff out posers faster than Chris Brown can say “Anger Management.”

2. Provide Value First

I honestly can’t believe how many insta-pitches I still get.  Apparently someone must respond or people would just stop doing it, but I can’t imagine anyone actually does.  I have written about this before.  People, really, put some value INTO the world instead of just trying to take it out.  What do your connections find valuable?  Provide it for them.  Imagine walking into a restaurant for dinner and as soon as the hostess seats you, the waiter comes up and says, “That will $85 please.”  Ah, what?  Can I have my dinner first?

Yeah, it makes no sense, but people still do it.  Then they quit their businesses saying that social media and social networking don’t work.  It’s no different on the web than it is in the restaurant.  Value drives consumer interest and action.  Give people the food they really want first.  If you constantly over deliver, people will beat down your door to connect with you.

3. Make Comments

Yes, people want to know you care.  Are we starting to see a pattern?  Take a few moments and extend a part of your life into theirs.  The world of social media is a bit of a paradox.  It can be a very impersonal personal experience.  We are connected to people all over the planet, but if we aren’t conscious about forwarding our relationships, the connection can be lost.  Comment on their FB status & blog post, retweet their tweets or tweet their blog post.  If you find value in what they are saying, it’s likely your friends will too.  (HINT, HINT PEOPLE!)

4. Create Groups To Organize Interest

If you use your social networks for both business and personal use as most people do, use groups to gather who is interested in what you are saying.  If you are in Network Marketing create a value based group for your company or industry instead of constantly exposing your entire friend list to your offers.  I have friends that I get 6 and 7 invites to things a week.  Honestly, it’s a bit much.  After a while, it’s like the gynecologist after a long day at the office coming home to his wife and she is wearing sexy lingerie, “Honey, if I see one more…”

4.7 Be Consistent

If you are going to establish an online presence, then do it.  Really do it.  I understand time is an issue for everyone, but make a commitment and stick to it.  Don’t add 500 friends in a week, post a few articles and disappear for 3 months.  Stay in the game.  Post your articles in places that they will create value for the readers.  Post them often.  I recently attended a webinar where the guy was talking about his LinkedIn strategy for lead generation.  It was great.  He generated over 1,600 leads in 6 months for his affiliate programs mostly through article submission and some of the strategies above.  But guess how many times he published an article?  1944 to be exact.  That’s right, 1944.  Now THAT’s consistency and his business exploded because of it.

Get out of here now…go make some friends or go actually be a friend to some of the ones you already have.  But before you do, remember to leave your comments and if you found value in this post, retweet me please.