Internet marketers and hobbyists flock to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook for anything and everything. From meeting people to building a business, social media has become the tool of choice for many. Network marketers are no exception. In addition to the basic pros and cons of social media etiquette, effective use of these sites for marketing purposes requires strategic planning that differs greatly from other forms of advertising and promoting a business. Therefore, it becomes imperative for network marketers to learn how to integrate social media in the most efficient way that gives them the best return for their time invested.
The first thing that should be in place is a blog. In other articles I have covered how to set up a blog for marketing purposes. Suffice it to say in this case that the blog will serve as the exit point for your content and the home page, or the site to which you direct all the traffic generated by your social media efforts. The good thing about using a blog for this purpose is that it allows you to create entire websites with minimal effort and cost. They are also very easy to update and link to RSS (Subscriptions for updates). You can, and should, also add a subscription box to your site using your autoresponder.
Once you have your blog set up, the next thing you need to do is create valuable content. This can be done in the form of articles and/or videos. I suggest doing both. Create a video, then write a short article using that same content. Use YouTube or Viddler to upload your video and get an embed code. With that information, create a new blog post that includes a synopsis of the article you wrote in sync with the video. Embed the video in the post and end with a call to action. Make sure to publish your post. Copy the post’s permalink, as you’ll need it for the next step.
The next thing you need to have is a subscription to a social media management site like Ping.fm. This account must be linked to ALL of your social media accounts. Once everything is set up, you need to login to your account and enter an update to be sent to all your social networks. The update should invite your friends and followers to check out your latest and greatest source of value. Be sure to add your permalink to the message. If you’re going to include Twitter in your Ping.fm post, be sure to shorten that URL.
You have no real control over what happens, except that your site is set up in such a way that the visitor has no choice but to subscribe to your offer.
That is all! How to integrate your social networks for marketing purposes! As you can see, it doesn’t have to be difficult or painful. In fact, it can be a lot of fun, a bit like playing. Therefore, be careful and responsible in the use of your time in online marketing. Once you have this simple system in place, you will no longer be at risk of your followers missing out on your valuable content.