Social Network Promotions: Keeping Your Friends Happy

If you are going to promote a product or business on a social network then it is important to make sure that you cultivate good relationships with other users of the site. Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or another social networking site, it is the people using the site who determine how far your message will spread and how much attention your promotion receives. If users of the site like the content that you post, then they will share it with their friends and spread your message even farther than you would be able to on your own.

The first thing that you will need to do in order to promote something on a social network is to find as many friends or followers as you can. You will be able to add any of your current contacts who use the site as friends and ensure that all of your employees create their own profiles in order to become your friends, but you will also need to find new friends. You can promote your social networking profile to your customers, in order to encourage them to become your friends on the site. You can also find new friends on the social network itself, by interacting with people through forums and groups, and by leaving comments or links on other people's profiles. Each friend or follower that you find will be able to bring you even more friends, by bringing you to the attention of all of their own friends. 

In order to retain the friends and followers that you have found, you will need to provide some sort of content. You could add written content, post links to interesting sites, or add media such as photos, videos or music. You should make sure that your content reflects the image you want to project for your business and try to keep it relevant to the business or product you are promoting. You should make sure that you update your social networking profile and add new content as frequently as possible. This will ensure that your friends and followers keep paying attention to you, and that you attract new friends. It is often a good idea to schedule regular updates, so that your dedicated followers know that they will get an update from you at regular intervals. 

As well as providing content, you should make sure that you interact with your friends or followers. If someone posts a comment on your profile, or asks you a question, then you should make sure that you reply promptly. This is particularly important if you are using Twitter, since the popularity of this site is largely based upon the fact that people can talk to one another and carry on extended conversations. Interacting with your followers and friends will make them more likely to pay attention to what you have to say, and to write messages and tweets that refer to you, in the hope of being replied to or mentioned on your feed.

It is important to respect your friends and followers, otherwise they will abandon you and your attempts to use social networking to promote your business or product will fail. You should pay attention to anything that your friends say, provide them with fresh and interesting content, and avoid spamming them. Posting some adverts on a social networking site can be very effective, but you should not bombard people with too many ads, offer nothing but ads, or try to advertise to people who have not shown an interest in the type of products you are offering. If you annoy people, they may simply ignore you, but there is also the risk that they will complain about you on the site, creating bad publicity and possibly leading to the site taking action against you.