Okay, so you may be on Facebook to keep in touch with your mom or your buddy from college.  You’ve heard about using Facebook and Twitter (and perhaps Linked In) to market yourself and your business, but you don’t really get it yet.  You wonder to yourself, “What’s the difference”, and “Why do I need to be on more than one social network?”  Well, I’m going to tell you why….

Not all Social Media is Equal, but All are Equally Important.

MySpace – This is a “discotek”; you have those really silly pictures of yourself at that rock concert or you on Spring Break in Cancun, you’re more laid back, it’s more of a “party” site.  It’s still important to have a MySpace, though (be careful how silly those pictures are).

Facebook – This is more of a “Church”; your grandmother may be a Facebook friend.  You can have some personal photos, but nothing too crazy that you wouldn’t want Grandma, your kids, kids’ friends, or your boss to see.  You can create different groups, though, and make them private.  You can also have a fan page for your business, run applications, & converse.

Twitter – Meet & Greet.  Sort of a “hit & run” conversation.

Linked In - Solely business.  You can have family as part of your network, but it’s not really a place or a site where you get too personal.

There are applications available, both on Twitter as well as Facebook which will permit you to post on both networks at the same time.  Those tools will be covered in a future post.

Okay, so now you know the basic difference between the social media networks, but why be on more than one?  Simple:  First, you have to understand WHY you are on social media in the first place.

Are you on social media only to keep in touch with personal friends and family?  Well, I think you’re missing out if you are in business if you fail to capitalize on one of the most effective marketing tools created.  But if that’s why you’re there, then so be it.

You need to look at your business (sit down with your marketing or business coach, if you have one) and see how you want to utilize social media, or if you want to use it at all.  Are you:

• Looking to perform market research?
• Looking to promote awareness for a charity or nonprofit?
• Wanting to create a more effective means of communication between you and your client base?
• Looking to create informational products based on a specific niche?
  
• Wanting to use social medial solely for personal or entertainment use?

Once you have figured that out, if you discover that you need network for your business, how do you decide where to start?  Well, in this writer’s opinion, you should NOT promote only your business online.  I know you’re probably reading that statement and gasping, but I’m serious.  People don’t buy from logos or companies; they buy from people.  They will conceivably pay more for a product or service from someone they’ve built a relationship with versus a company or individual they have not, even if that company or individual has a lower price.

So, what should you be promoting?  YOURSELF.  Build the network of “You” first.  Your business or company will of course be part of your network, but you need to let people get to know you.  You are not as fat, ugly, nerdy, or geeky as you imagine (and heck, if you are, EMBRACE IT; you’ll find followers who are like you in no time), so why not create a “You” network?  Get over your insecurities, and as long as you’re contributing positively to your community, in a way make it all about you.

To that end, in the beginning, you should probably start with only a handful of networking sites, but be prepared to be in it for the long haul; there’s no “quick money” or “quick connections” to be made in social media.  It’s all about the relationships you garner.  Just be prepared at some point, to be on as many networking sites as you can, as long as you can foster and build those relationships.  There are tools that are out there to help you accomplish that, but those will be covered in a different post.

I hope that this was of benefit to you.  Comments are welcome.