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How to use social networking websites to your advantage

What is social media marketing?

Social media marketing continues to cause a big buzz in business. It is really just a way of using social networks to promote business online.

Social networking has now become essential for anyone involved in PR, or marketing a big multinational corporation. It is also highly popular with freelancers, affiliates, independent retailers, creative people, celebrities and politicians.

Social media marketing is much easier when you can schedule updates to all your social networks, and then view responses from all those networks in one email. You can do this by joing a service such as Postling.

Instructions

Step 1

Register with the major social media networks

When you join Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and any social networking website that will suit your purpose, you need to set up a profile page.

Provide as much contact information as you can, when filling in your profile, and add as many links as you are allowed. To promote your account, you can buy instagram likes. This will help promote your channel.

After you have registered in your own name, choose a suitable username. This can be your job title, business name or real name. Add a profile picture, which can be a company logo or a real photo of yourself. Then write a brief bio to reveal a few details about yourself or your business,

Step 2

Find followers

You need to begin posting updates, or you cannot expect anyone to follow you. Just saying hi is not enough. Start asking questions, make it clear you will be actively participating in the network, and share a few links to interesting content.

Start following other users, sending friend requests and adding comments to other people’s updates.

Step 3

Add comments, make responses and share links

Interact with other users as much as you can, and don’t forget to ‘retweet’ or share updates, when you like what someone else has posted. Be polite in your responses to comments and queries posted in reply to your own updates.

Never use a social networking website only for posting your own links. Doing this will lose followers.

Step 4

Start promoting your own business links

When you have started to gain followers and friends, or made connections within a network, begin posting links to your own web content, business blog posts or marketing articles.

Things you need for social networking

• Time for networking every day, or several times a week at the minimum.

• A good social attitude. Politeness and friendliness will benefit your business activities, and will show that you are not just interested in promoting your own links.

Social networking tips

• Make sure your own web content has a «share this» link, or a box with all the social network icons and buttons for people to use.

• Always read the rules at each social networking website when you register. Check to see whether you are allowed to self-promote, or if this is discouraged.

• If you use a tool to send automatic updates, be sure to post some live updates as well. Be seen to be reading other people’s updates, by posting responses or comments and share (or retweet) interesting updates.

• Join bookmarking networks and repeat the same process. When you are regularly bookmarking interesting web content at sites like Digg, StumbleUpon and Delicious, you can include more of your own links without being accused of spam.

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