The Social Media Marketing Network

[Marq]

When I think of social - I think friends and family and parties and braai stuff.

I am not sure if it was on this forum that we discussed the subject of friends vs business environments and the definitions of a friend. I think it came up in a mlm discussion, many moons ago, where in mlm everyone in your world is a target subject for a sale or link or contact for a future hit. Friends and family dont stand a chance and are soon just a past name on a database. I am sure there are many mlm proponents who sit alone today wondering why their family is having a sunday roast and they have not been invited. They then wonder off to the latest 'networking' workshop to find similar souls who then assure each other that it was all worth it in the long run.

Anyway if we refer to a database in a 'social networking environment', I think of friends that I can enjoy life with. I do not think of a list of potential suckers ...er...customers/clients. If you say you want to make friends with me - then be a friend and invite me to your next party or come around and have a beer with me, not a person who is going to send spam and send stuff to my email and phone telling me that I missing out on some wonderful new concept that I heard of ten years ago. If you want to do business then I will put you on my business contacts list and we can then talk business....we can also talk friend type stuff, of course, but at the end of that talk, I still know why we have a relationship.

I guess its a question of definition - mine is friends to be social with and business potentials that I can be friendly with. I keep those separate, trying to understand the world we live in by not being dependent on the next person I meet for my future survival, if I am in friend share my life mode. If I in hunting and fishing for new blood mode to ensure my survival, then thats a different scenario.

Perhaps I am old school - the new generation in an over populated world seeing all around them as their next victim and now misusing the term 'social'. In my 'old world' we used to go to 'socials' which was a fun party drinking fall down event. A social network for me is just an extension of that idea. A place to meet new friends. It seems though that the trend now is to go to the 'social' to pick up new victims. The majority are there on the social media for a party and to talk general life stuff to each other.....here circling on the outskirts is a bunch of 'networkers' ready to prey on the next person that comes into scope by clicking the button that says 'lets be friends'.

[Dave A]

I am not sure if it was on this forum that we discussed the subject of friends vs business environments and the definitions of a friend.

I remember this discussion on terminology when vBulletin introduced the social networking functionality - we never really resolved that one in the end

And then there was a discussion on some aspects of common MLM practices, particularly the starting with family and friends part - but that's proving a little more elusive to find.

My opinion is there's little doubt that "social networking" done wrong not only looks fugly, I suspect it's actually counter-productive.

It really does comes down to intent and much as Marq suggests, appropriate behaviour for the environment you're in. Aggressive networking chasing sales in a social environment doesn't create a good impression. And even in a business environment, trying too hard doesn't look that slick either.

You don't want to be a wallflower, but coming on like gangbusters pitching for the sale doesn't fly either. Can I suggest - just be yourself? And hopefully that's someone that's helpful and clearly the goto person to solve that particular little challenge you're dealing with.

Obviously for this to work people need to know what business you're in, but you don't need flashing neon signs. Honey works.

Just my opinion.

[BrandSmit]

There's a pretty decent ebook called "Social Media For Small Business." It's sponsored by Microsoft (it says on the front page) and I found it during a regular search, so I don't think it's a paid product:

http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/soc...orbusiness.pdf.

Social media (and social media marketing) is too large a topic, with too many applications to be able to say it's not relevant for small businesses. Having said that, small business in SA is not the same as small business in, say, the US, in terms of potential clients who hang around social media sites.

[DonovanBanks]

There's a pretty decent ebook called "Social Media For Small Business." It's sponsored by Microsoft (it says on the front page) and I found it during a regular search, so I don't think it's a paid product:

thanks for this, I'm going to give it a read.