Guest Blogger Tina Merritt

Tina is a good friend of mine who is a Real Estate Agent & Internet Marketing Trainer for Long & Foster Realtors, Founder of Wolkia a consulting company for Real Estate Agents embracing Technology, Activerain Blogger, Awesome Mother & a Virginia Tech Hokies fan.

I was honored to have her guest blog on my post with this re-blog below on Social Network Friendships.  Enjoy!

It seems every site nowadays gives you the opportunity to follow “friends”.

So, what type of “friends” are there?  Let’s take a look….

1. True friends.  People you personally know.  People you talk to at least once per month.  The people who probably know way too much about you.  The people who you would have to pay to be silent if you ever decided to run for public office.

2.  Business Associates.  Colleagues you do business with on a regular basis.  Maybe you work in the same office.  Maybe they have done your loans/home inspections/closings for the past 5 years.  People who know you personally, but probably don’t REALLY know you.

3.  Clients.  Past, present, future.  You handled a business transaction for them 3 years ago, haven’t talked to them since – but that doesn’t mean they don’t like you.

4.  Former classmates.  Gary the Geek, Popular Priscilla, Doug the Druggie, Wanda the Weirdo….you know what I mean.  The old boyfriend who is now married with 3 kids or your best friend from 7th grade.

5.  Social Networking friends.  This gets tricky.  People you have never met face to face but have watched on YouTube, read their blogs, subscribed to their feed, etc.  People you feel like you know – though you have never personally met.

6.  Acquaintances.  People you have heard of, or they have heard of you – though you really do not know much about them.

7.  Circle of Sphere.  People who know people you know.  You may or may not ever get to actually know them.

8.  Strangers.  The friend request you get that you accept and the person is some guy who builds skateboards out of his garage in Brazil.  You have absolutely nothing in common….and probably never will.

When deciding who to “friend”, keep this in mind…..what is the purpose of the site you are on and who are you trying to connect with?  Very often, your “friends” will take a look at the others you have “befriended”.  Be careful here….if you are using Facebook for business, do you want Boobalicious Brenda or Boozing Bernie to show up in your friend feed? Also, periodically check out your “friends” – you may be surprised what their new profile picture looks like and how it can reflect back on you.

Tina in Virginia

Post from: Social Media Vision

Boobalicious Brenda – Who Are Your 8 Types Of Online Friends ?

Social Networks Are Becoming Breeding Grounds For Scam

As the Social Media phenomenon increase, people all around the world have found ways to stay connected with friends, family and co-workers.

As users widen their social presence on Myspace, Facebook and LinkedIn, they need to be aware that scammers also have shifted their focus to social media sites as the next hot locations to find their next target, according to this article.

“Many [criminals] have now moved to computer networks because that’s where the victims have moved and, therefore, the opportunities,” said Shawn Henry, assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Investigations unit. – [Businessweek]

Just as with anything that has become popular in mainstream you have to watch out for the new age scammers who are always looking for a way in to make money with new scams.

The Nigerian Scam

Over the past years Craigslist has been bombarded with Nigerian Scams of pretending to either give money, ask for suspicious transfers or any other method instead of the traditional cash/credit card transaction.

Per Craiglists.

Recognizing scams [Craiglist]

Most scams involve one or more of the following:

• inquiry from someone far away, often in another country
• Western Union, Money Gram, cashier’s check, money order, shipping, escrow service, or a “guarantee”
• inability or refusal to meet face-to-face before consumating transaction

Post from: Social Media Vision

Social Networks Are Becoming Breeding Grounds For Scam

Myspace and Facebook and Twitter Oh My!

We live in the day in age of “Whats the next hottest thing to hit the web” its surprising that almost 2 decades ago there was no such phrase.

With the unstable economy we now face and the tough times we run into, we are inclined to find ways to help increase our marketing and boost our exposure in business.

From Web 1.0, Web 2.0, Social Media, Social Marketing, Social Networking, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Blogging,Podcasts, Video Marketing, Wikis,Forums,Classifieds, Single Site Websites….Ok you get the idea.

The whole concept of keeping up is a work in itself and not to mention can cause dizziness and nausea

So the Golden Question is … ” What works” and “Which one should I do?”
Expensive Marketing

The boot camp of marketing and branding in the real world was no small picnic before the age of computers.

A rough game plan is outlined below:

• Marketing consisted of big bucks to Newspaper Ads, Radio Ads, TV Ads, Magazine Ads, you name it, there was no cheap way of advertising to what was “perceived” as the must advertise avenues. This costs Money and tons of it to get your return of investment.

• You wanted exposure, you hit the streets, talking to everyone and anyone, getting your name out there,because lets face it there was no such thing as a worldwide connection resource built on data and Ips at your disposal at the time, guess what this costs Money too. Gas, Air travel, flyers, signs etc….

• You wanted to join a networking group, wanted to sponsor a local team, wanted to have your ideas/thoughts exposed on print media….Great!!, it costs Money

Take a look at the bolded words above, they all cost “Money”

The Answer to “What Works?”

To answer the question, “What Works?” the answer is…..”EVERYTHING”

Yes, many of the online presence websites out there is “Free” and what is the old saying “Exposure is Exposure and nothing beats free exposure”

We are so privileged that most consumers are hooked up online now, that getting your name out there in the cyberworld is gold.

Think about it, so what if you signed up to a million sites and have created a profile or that you advertised millions of ads on craigslist.

What have you lost? Time maybe but what have you gained from getting your name out there to those million websites?

FREE Exposure, you can’t beat that.

Which one should I do?

Everyone out there usually has 2 responses to the many of sites/services out there.  Success and No luck.

Think about it, has every real world marketing worked for you 100% of the time as well? Has every colleague you known all had the same success stories from every marketing out there?

You betcha bottom dollar that every marketing has different results for everyone.

So here’s my concept, what does it hurt, to throw as much about yourself out there in the online world and see’s what sticks, What could it hurt?

The Verdict

So the moral of the story ladies and gentleman, don’t worry about what works and deciding which one to take a test drive in.

Dive right in to this wonderful free world of online presence, you will only be helping your exposure more regardless if you spend time on it or not, you signed up, you posted your profile and now your presence is added more to your portfolio.

Last but not least, Have fun, Find a niche site you like, there are many addictive tweeters out there, myspace fans, Facebook heads…go find your own selfish pleasure in these sites and make it your own.

Post from: Social Media Vision

Which Social Media Marketing Works Best?