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The Social Media Marketing

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This form of marketing is, at the moment, the in thing where it's not all about blatant advertising or blatant self promotion but about communication and discussion.

SMM is the use of internet sites which are engaged in the sharing of content to discuss and market your own website business or cause. Normally this will involve you creating content or commenting on others' content so as to enter into a discussion or similar dialogue with the purpose of literally getting your website out there to the public in order to be making money on the internet. This is quite contrary to a full on advertisement where blatant self promotion is the norm. The whole idea with SMM is to share your information regarding business issues, receive information yourself and to ultimately of course get your website business shared on the internet.

This method of marketing is extremely powerful and effective. Simply, you are discussing your business with others via the internet and so you are telling the world about your business and soon others will be telling the world about your business as well without your direct input. And all of this is free! I have yet to find anyone who said that SMM didn't work for them.

What you are reading right now is one form of SMM. This content on this site I am writing on is giving you information on a subject related to business, and at the end I am of course going to include my website business address for you to take a look at if you wish. This is, afterall the main purpose of writing content and social media marketing. But as you can see, I am not blatantly promoting myself or my website because that is not what this is all about. It is about interaction and sharing.

Are there other forms of media? There's blogging, Squidoo, Hubpages, Facebook, mySpace etc. Well these are being used right now to market businesses, and doing it very effectively. Check them out and see for yourself. On these sites you are free to customise your pages to suit your business.

Join forum sites and get into discussions, question and answer, the latest hot topic, discuss your business, discuss the business of others, but DON'T blatantly self promote, ever! Forum sites for businsess include homeworking.com, hombasedbusinessforums.com, forum.money.com and lots and lots of others. To find a forum applicable to your business or cause just tap the name into a search engine together with the word "forum" and there you have it. For example if your niche is insurance, just tap in "insurance forum".

There's YouTube and Google Videos. People love watching video's so make use of them. Then just how effective will the video be if you make it extra interesting? How beneficial will that video be when you include a link back to your website? So easy to do that there is no need for me to explain it here.

What about the use of online classifieds like Craigslist or US Freeads. Here you are simply advertising which of course is necessary so it's something you should be using for your business.

Your ultimate goal in business is to be making money online and to do this you need to get yourself out there.

If you do all this I can assure you that you will enjoy it. Be patient, use common sense and not only will you have fun but you will be making money on the internet. And if you're working from home, all the better eh.

The Social Media Marketing

Social media is redefining the meaning of "friendship" and leaving millions who are craving for connection starving for more.

::::> Welcome to the social media paradox.

For example...

Here's a recent email I got after signing up to Mixx.com recently:

Subject: Someone likes you over at Mixx

xxxx1199 thinks you are a really cool person who knows your way around the web. Check out your new friend's profile: http://www.mixx.com/users/xxxx1199

Sounds like a potentially new "friend", right? So, although I know the game, I still couldn't help but browse over to xxxx1199 (name changed to spare the innocent) and, wow, this guy has a zillion friends!

So much for our blossoming friendship, how could he possibly have time..gees, with all the friends he has already.

OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration but it illustrates the point. A "friend" in the social media sphere is not a friend.

I'm Serious!

Some may think I am making a big deal..trying to stir up a semantic debate or be controversial for the sake of drama.

But no, let me assure you, I am serious.

Primarily because I see this "fake friend" mindset brought on by the mind-numbing proliferation of social media infecting an entire generation of young people.

Obviously, there are millions who have a desire for community building, for being part of a team, for getting input from a group or sharing an affinity for something they like. This desire is as old as humanity.

Until the advent of social media, the way to participate was usually face to face, hand to hand and, sometimes, heart to heart.

Today, you could join hundreds of social media communities without leaving the coffee shop.

The paradox is, although it is easier than ever to be a part of a personal community, once you do so you'll never hear the sound of another person voice, the touch of their hand or feel the emotion in their heart.

Sidenote: But...you may get an email assuring you that you are a "really cool person".

A Challenge To You

This is an important subject, especially to anyone involved in social media marketing, because we have a choice:

Do we contribute to this fake friend revolution or do we genuinely participate?

So, my challenge to you is the following:

1. Stop collecting friends like baseball cards.

2. Reply to your friends, fans, admirers and followers...get to know them...listen...heck, give them a call.

3. Don't post thoughtless comments for the sake of a backlink.

4. Offer to do guest articles for each other, or otherwise increase the dialogue.

5. Create a Squidoo or Hubpages site and promote it for a mutual charity.

6. Don't brown nose but compliment aspects of each others site or content that you like.

7. In short... Give your "friends" more than you have been giving them.

I promise to take my own advice and perhaps, with our collective effort, we can chart a better course for social media and create genuine, lasting friendships in the process.

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About Author

Both John Milligan & Peter Lenkefi are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

John Milligan has sinced written about articles on various topics from Make Money Online, Site Promotion and Internet Marketing. John runs and lives with his wife Sula and daugher Heidi in the UK.If you want to set up and run your very own successful website w. John Milligan's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.

Peter Lenkefi has sinced written about articles on various topics from Accounting Guide, Home and Mobile Phone Reviews. Get your social media marketing off the ground. Check out Peter Lenkefi and blog promotion tips at Web2Cent. Peter Lenkefi's top article generates over 450000 views. to your Favourites.

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