Social Media Marketing- the Top 10 Mistakes People Will Make in Social Media in 2009

Here we go again!
Another year and another great possibility! With the election of Obama to the presidency, there is Hope and all are looking for a great future.
But I am sitting here thinking of all the folks in social Media that are going to be frustrated again in their social Media marketing efforts. wondering why they are not getting the traction or friends that they thought they should. And the main reason is that they continue to make the same mistakes in Social Media as last year.
Are YOU going to do that- I sure hope not. You may not have the power of a Robert Scoble, or the personality of a Gary Vanyerchuck, or the mind of a Chris Brogan, or the networking focus of a Mari Smith or Coach Deb micek. Or even the amazing writing talent of a Scott Monty.
At least not yet.
But you CAN accelerate your Social Media Success this year by avoiding these top 10 mistakes made by people in Social media in 2009.
Ok…what are they?
1) Lack of Consistent Visibility.
You cannot make a path and create a presence in Social Media, without CONSISTENTLY being SEEN and HEARD with your message. Ask Carrie Wilkerson. Or Timothy Carter. NOT going to happen. That is why that you MSUT create a Presence on the web DAILY- and be seen and heard as part of the community. A tree does not grow part time. It must be consistent in it’s efforts. It is the saem with your Social Media marketing.
2) Focusing too much on being heard.
LISTEN first- THEN talk. Social Media is about Listening to what is being said- by your prospects and customers- and social media in general. You would never enter a party or social event and immediately start yelling out what you wanted to talk about.
Neither should you in Social Media. LISTEN and then LEARN- and then Let your voice be heard- ONLY as a part of the existing conversation. Your time to start the conversation will come.
3) Taking, instead of GIVING to the Social Media Community.
Ahhhhh- lots of takers out in the Web 2,0 world. But NOT YOU. GIVE first. Give Value. Give Suggestions. Give Advice. Give ideas. Give Encouragement. Give News. Give New Possibilities. Give Words of Gratitude. But do NOT take relentlessly. You will be shunned and labeled as such.
If you REALLY want to create powerful influence- GIVE. How does that work?
GIVE = Gain Influence Very Easily. Give FIRST – and you will never come in Second.
4) Not Joining groups.
Groups are where you can have some of the greatest growth and learning. I belong to a ton of groups. Why? Because of 2 reasons: 1) I learn a lot from other people. 2) I CONNECT with the folks in the group.
Groups are a “secret weapon” that you should use on as many social sites as you can. They will not only Enlarge you- but also the possibilities that the group can bring to your life.
5) Not attending Events.
Events ROCK. And you should be attending at leat 1 event a week to do 2 things: 1) Become more Visible. 2) To learn from people that know things you do not.
Events are what i call the “Hidden University” of social Media. You can learn a LOT and grow a lot from events.
Look at the events that interest you. And pick on event that mildly interests you. And see if you can learn something even from that event. I have an event journal. and every event that i attend- i keep a log of what was said so i can review it later. You may want to do the same.
6) Not enough VALUE in what they are doing.
Value RULES in Social Media. And we train on what we call “Surprising Value.” This is the type of Value that is so great and unexpected that it surprises the person that discovers it. Put More Value in your POSTS. Put more Value in your PODCASTS. Put more Value in your Conversations. Put more Value in your Articles. Put More Value in your Recommendations. Put More Value in YOU and what you bring to the Social Media table.
Value RULES. And the one with the MOST value at the end of the day- reigns.
7) Joining Too Many Social Media sites.
There are about 3,600 Social Media sites. You need maybe 5-7. You read that right. You need 5-7 PRIMARY Social Sites. Then you need maybe 25-30, or even 50 Secondary sites for Link Building and traffic purposes. The main sites that you should be a part of- is up to you. My ‘Big 7″ are facebook, twitter, youtube, LinkedIn, Stumbleupon, Plaxo, and Wordpress- along with mashable. These are the CORE of my Social Media Marketing.
Do I belong to more? Heavens yes- a LOT more’ but have automated those through ping.fm and other social software.
Do NOT try and be seen on a hundred sites. Facebook alone can keep you busy with over 200 million people. The same with myspace, or friendster. Master ONE site while mastering social media and then another, and then another, until you have YOUR “Big 7.” And then automate the rest.
8) Focusing too much on Monetizing Social Media.
Nothing wrong with monetization on the internet. We do it a LOT- and daily. But focusing too much on that in social media- is , well…not cool. People do not mind knowing about an offer, or new info product. But how about giving some VALUE first with it- then invite them to an event- and then at the end of the conference call or webinar-give them a chance to purchase your produst.
What do I see daily? Urls and messages SELLING SELLING SELLING! Whew- wish that would not happen so blatantly. It has gotten better, but if you have a great content rich info product- here is a novel idea: GIVE part of the info away FIRST’and let the person ASK you for the product if they like it.
Hmmm….that just might be an idea worth considering.
9) Thinking that You are Nobody and Social Media Success is for other people.
Ask Chris Brogan. Ask Scott Monty. Ask Alejandro Reyes. Ask Brian Solis. Ask Dave Taylor. Ask Shama Hyder. EVRYONE has a great possibility to becoming SOMEBODY in Social Media. THAT is the beauty of the culture. Everyone who contributes Value and Connection- is more than welcome to achieve whatever they want. Chris Brogan once had 10 readers of his blog. Now he has almost 40,000 people following him on twitter alone. Brian Clark of copyblogger fame once had 10 readers. So did Scoble. So did Monty. So did Shama. And the list is endless.
There is GREATNESS inside of you-and there is NO BETTER place than Social Media to unleash it upon the world. You ARE Somebody- and always have been. YOU are a Social Media Rockstar- in training!
10) Not Branding Yourself Strong Enough.
Branding is a tool that we all use in Social Media. It is WHO YOU ARE- and what people remember about you. It could be a phrase-”Just Do It (TM)”- or a slogan- “”We’ve Got You Covered.” Or even a questions- “Can You Hear me Now?” or just a Name-”Trump.”
You need to get a slogan or phrase that you can start wrapping in your messages. You need to get an image that speaks what you want the public to see and know. And you need to decide -what is the ONE THING I want people to think of FIRST- when they think of me and my company? THAT is the start of a good brand build. Do not be just another face in the web 2.0 world. Set yourself apart and above the fray with a brand that rocks. We teach what is called “Connection Branding” and we have saying:
“Do NOT just be known or remembered- become UNFORGETTABLE.” ™
THAT is what you need to do!
These are the top 10 mistakes people will make in Social Media in 2009. Yes, i Know there are others- but these are the ones that i see as the most prevalent in Social Media marketing.
blessings..doug firebaugh

Social Media Marketing Training For Toronto and Area Businesses

If you operate a business in a city as large as Toronto, you know how hard it is to stand out from the crowd. Social media marketing (SMM) can give you the edge.
With a population of over 5 million in the GTA, the market is huge, but so is the competition. Social media marketing offers an affordable and relatively easy marketing solution. The key is to learn how to do it right. Social media marketing training can teach you how to harness the power of social media.The Value of Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is a multi-channel approach to marketing. It uses social media sites, social bookmarking, blogging and articles to help generate interest in your business. It’s really like the next incarnation of word-of-mouth marketing. Instead of people chatting about you, they are linking to you and sharing those links with friends.
Consider an example:
• A Toronto marketing company has a blog. The blog appears on the company’s Website, with posts linking to other pages on the company’s site. People using Google to find information about Toronto marketing firms stumble on a blog post, which links them to the company’s site.
• The company has a Facebook page. It adds blog posts as notes on its Facebook page. People finding the company through Facebook share the blog posts with other Facebook users. Some users seek out the blog for more information, and find their way to the company’s main site.
• The company also writes a series of articles and posts them in an online article database. These articles also link to the company’s site and appear in Google search results.
• The company’s articles and blog posts are included on a social bookmarking site, increasing the chances of links being shared.
None of these initiatives have cost the company money, yet they have increased the company’s inbound links and attracted interested prospects. They have also led people to share links to their blog posts and articles, which, in turn, link to their main site.Start With Social Media Marketing Training
Now that your interest in social media marketing is piqued, you’re probably wondering how to get started.
Training is the key. Without it, you’ll be hopelessly lost in a sea of social media sites, and probably exhaust yourself trying to keep up with them all.
With social media marketing training, you can learn which sites and techniques are best for your business. You can develop a strategy to ensure your social media marketing is manageable. You can create an editorial schedule for your blog posts and articles, so you know what you are writing about and when you need to post. (Fresh content is critical to success in SMM.) You can learn all about RSS, and the difference between social networking and social bookmarking. You can also learn some basics about optimizing your content to attract targeted traffic to your business.
An investment in social media marketing training will pay off immediately. Don’t get lost in the shuffle of Toronto businesses. Get started with social media marketing today and get ahead of the competition.

Social Media Marketing – Using Facebook to Market Your Business

If you are considering social media marketing for your business, remember to emphasize the “social” more so than the “marketing.”
Why? Because social media users seek genuine communication, not marketing spin. Nowhere is that more apparent than on social networking sites like Facebook. To make the most out of your efforts to market with social media, you’d do well to get some advice from a marketing firm or, at the very least, read a few tips on how to use these sites.Using Facebook and Other Social Networking Sites for Marketing
According to O’Reilly Media, Facebook demographics have shifted. Once thought of as an online hangout for high school kids and university students, it is now increasingly the networking site of choice for older groups.
In January, 2009, O’Reilly released its 2009 Facebook Demographics and Statistics report. The fastest growing demographic on Facebook is users aged 35 to 54. The growth in this demographic is off the charts – 276% in the last 6 months of 2008.
Users aged 55 and over are also discovering Facebook. This demographic jumped by 194% in the same time period. The younger crowd is still there though. The number of 25 to 34-year-olds using Facebook doubles about every six months.
Clearly, there are abundant marketing opportunities here. But you need to know how to approach your audience right.Social Media Marketing is All About the Soft Sell
To start marketing on Facebook, create page for your business. Once you have established this page, you can build a list of fans. Fans can follow your business and receive updates whenever you add something to your page. The key is to add information of value so people don’t feel they’re being given a hard sell.
Use notes to tell people about upcoming trade shows or conferences you will be attending. Use the mini-feed to keep people connected to your blog. You can talk about new and exciting things in your company, without sounding like you’re selling.
Keep it interesting with photos and video clips. Not only will you promote your company, you will give your business real personality, and allow visitors to see the people behind the company name.
Create a group if you really want to personalize your contact with users. People join groups with specific interests, and moderating a group can help you reach a specific audience. Keep in mind that the group is an entity unto itself, and not a page about your business so it needs to be handled accordingly. Messages sent to the group are delivered directly to member’s Inboxes, so ensure that what you are sharing is of real value to people.Keeping Up with Social Media Marketing
Herein lies the real challenge with social media marketing – upkeep. You cannot let your page get stale. But between writing blog posts, moderating a group, managing RSS feeds and just keeping up with the communication you generate, social media marketing can be very labour-intensive.
If you need help planning or managing your social media marketing strategy, a training course or online marketing consultant can help.
And remember, you only have one chance to make a good first impression. If you don’t handle your social media marketing right from the beginning, you could end up doing more harm than good. Take the time to learn how to do it right, so you can reap the benefits for a long time to come.