Facebook And Social Media Marketing

The term "social media marketing" seems to be all the rage lately, but I feel that some of these so called "marketing gurus" who promote the concept need to sit down and have a good long read of the Terms Of Service of these sites.

What many people don't seem to realize is that Facebook is one site that will jump on anyone that operates against their TOS.

One of the key things that I found after joining at the suggestion of a 'social marketer' was that the company will actually boot you off the site, and cancel your account, if you advertise outside of the facilities that they provide (Facebook Ads, Pages etc).

While many people have had a whine when this has happened to them, the fact is that the terms are there, the company owns the site, end of story!

You can market on Facebook, Twitter and Myspace, but if you are going to go outside of the system, but there is only one product that you can safely promote!

And what is that product? You of course!

By building relationships with people, and being honest and open, you are actually promoting yourself.

You can display your web address on your profile, and use different applications to let others know what it is that you do, or sell.

People naturally tend to deal with people in business that they know and trust.

If you're going to begin networking on Myspace, Linkedin, Bebo and so on, the main thing to remember is to be real!

This starts with using a picture of yourself!

Forget about using a picture of your dog, cat, bird, or even a car.

While you may feel shy, or are convinced that you have been struck once too often by the ugly stick, it would probably do you good to come out and have a decent photo taken of yourself.

I often tell people that if they are that worried about their appearance, then they should have a sketch done of their face, and use that instead.

Don't think that I haven't been through it.

I learned the hard way, and when I started networking online, had someone tell me that the photo I was using then made me look like an undertaker, while someone else said that I looked like a cranky old school teacher.

That's another point - don't be too precious and sensitive!

I asked these people what they thought, and allowed them to tell me exactly what they thought.

As a result of listen to them, and changing, my networking efforts have become a lot more successful!

Being yourself also includes using your real name. I have had people try to add me as a friend on different sites while using names such as "Make Contacts", "Link2Me" and "Mothers Day Bargains".

As I explained in a recent post on Coffee With Allan, using names like this puts people who use their real identity at a disadvantage.

They are being open, while people who hide behind false names and use icons don't always come across as being open.

Note here that I am not making any aspersions against anyone's character, but rather am talking about perception.

And in business, other peoples' perception goes a long way towards whether you succeed or not.

Tell me, if some with a name like "Make Contacts" came looking to be your friend, what would your reaction be? What sort of relationship would it be?

One of my Twitter friends recently said that the trouble with social networking is that people want to network back!

Yes, it's a two way street! But I somehow feel that "Make Contacts" is just out to sell to his networking buddies.

What do you think? I'd love to hear your comments, especially about social media and Facebook in particular.