The growing topic on Twitter and the Blogosphere is how Online Marketers are becoming very bitter with the increase competition in Social Media Marketing.  You may have witnessed statements like “Everyone is a Social Media Expert” or “I hate how everyone thinks they are a Social Media Marketer”

Put Away The Social Media Hatorade

There seems to be a lot of animosity going on lately but the Top Social Media Strategists in the Web 2.0 world doesn’t seem to care to be affected by this battle.

The truth of the matter is this and its quite simple really.

“Social Media Marketing is the new standard and instead of fighting it, we must embrace it or be left behind”

Embracing Change

Remember back then in the DOT.COM boom where supposedly have a Dot.com business will make you MILLIONS & MILLIONS of money for everyone!!!  Well of course we found out the hard way just because we got online does not mean it’s instant cash.  Keep in mind everyone back then was gunning for a dot.com business, it was a race more or less.  Back then, entrepreneurs were hating on the competition and wanted to be the first to win the race.  However, the race and dot.com business bubbled and simmered down and now everyone is online.

The same concept applies to this day, who cares if everyone is using Social Media Marketing tactics.  Guess what, this is starting to become the normal practice and eventually everyone will use Social Media Marketing tactics in their business.

This is Business 101 folks, instead of being paranoid and bitter about competition.  Embrace competition and find ways to improve yourself and focus on how to be successful rather than pouting and complaining because your Mother is right, “It won’t do you any good”.

So what can we do while the Marketing Revolution shifts and starts conforming the entire world to this new change?  Instead of whining about the competition lets focus on these aspects, shall we:

• Start building your online presence in full affect to get a head start from your competition who hasn’t signed up on board with Social Media Marketing yet.  We are at an advantage while most people are afraid to embrace this new change, why not start building a great gap in your head start before your competition wises up and hops on the bandwagon.

• For your current competition who use Social Media Marketing now, constantly learn and read new things on how to improve your current marketing methods,  You can never learn too much.  Also, learn from the best even if it’s your direct competitor.  Just like Microsoft and the great painters in the world, they steal great ideas, upgrades it, and make it their own.  Sometimes to be successful you have to mirror the best but make it your own.

So let’s all put away the Social Media Hatorade and re-focus our efforts on how to be successful instead of focusing on things we can’t change.  Social Media Marketing is here to stay and we can either embrace it or be left behind.  Whats your decision?

Post from: Social Media Vision

Put Away The Social Media Hatorade

Social Media can be time consuming

There’s an old saying that goes “Too much of a good thing can be bad for you”.  This is basically addiction.

Addiction can lead to loss of work, sleep and losing track of time.   If you are an employer, chances are that you do no wish for your employees to be engrossed in avenues other than their job when they are at work.

Let’s face the facts, Social Media can be very time consuming if you are not too careful.  Social Networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are breeding zones for social engagement and interaction. It’s quick, easy and fun. This can be very easy to get caught up in.

Many users also put a lot of time and effort in creating  a very power Social Marketing presence in their business plan.

For Self-employed individuals this many not be an issue because you have a much more flexible schedule than the corporate day job users but this can also hamper with your personal life and other high priority activities like family time that is being stripped away from.

Curiosity kills the cat

In the Web 2.0 world users sometimes have a serious condition called the “Vain User”.

The “VAIN USER” likes to constantly have reassurance and monitor themselves at all time. 

• They check to see if any one has commented on their blog or social networks.

This feeling of the need to monitor themselves can disrupt their work time and being productive.  I understand the curiosity if any one has commented on one of your remarks you made on Twitter or Facebook but do it efficiently.  Just like with any other addiction you have to make sure your habit or hobby doesn’t consume you to a point where you are losing sleep, job production and other high priorities in your life.

Below I have found some great Tools, Apps & Tips to help you use your Social Media Time more wisely.

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Tools to help use Social Media effiencently

Twitter Mail [http://twittermail.com/] – Twittermail is a highly popular sight that help reduces the “Visiting Twitters Site” addiction.  Twittermail lets you e-mail your Tweets on any e-mail account and also has the ability to receive e-mail updates on any replies you receive on Twitter.

I actually do use Twittermail quite a bit when I am work because it prevents me from seeing other users on Twitter updates which can lead me into responding to them or just getting grossly involved in viewing Tweets that can make time fly and ultimately hurt your work performance.  The added e-mail update from Twittermail also helps with your Twitter Vain status of constantly needing to know if someone has replied to you yet.  Check it out.

Brightkit / HootSuite [http://hootsuite.com/] – Brighkit was the previous name of HootSuite which not to be mistaken of Brightkite.  HootSuite is also another Twitter Favorite who even Guy Kawasaki even uses.  HootSuite is a website most notably known for the multiple account and future Tweet website.

I use Brightkit when I may not have time to Tweet lets say tomorrow and want to still get my Tweets out.  I can schedule future Tweets by picking a Date and Time and also my Tweet message.  This can become very handy when you have a busy schedule and can’t focus on Tweeting.  Finally the Multiple Account feature is great to also manage more than one Twitter account.  For example I have a business and personal account.  

Digsby [http://www.digsby.com/] – Digsby is a great Software Application for your computer that helps organize all your Instant Messages, E-mails and Social Networks in one.  Digsby has a great concept but in the beginning they did had some flaws with memory leaks and errors but the new version of Digsby is excellent and I am sure with the future version they will only improve.  If you haven’t checked out my detailed review about this App yet, check it out here.

Ping.Fm & Friend Feed [http://ping.fm/ & http://friendfeed.com/] – Ping.fm and Friendfeed ultimately helps you update all your Social Networks all at once, thus helping you reduce time in logging in different sites.

Ping.fm is a stright forward and bottom line updater for all your Social Networks focused on getting your information out to everywhere.

Friendfeed is just like Ping.fm but also focuses on what your friends are doing and discovering.

I highly suggest checking out both as they are both valuable time savers.

Mobile Text – Texting should be the lifeblood of time savers which is by far the easiest to do and can be less cumbersome if done correctly.  Updating your social networks via Text gives you the flexibility of not being engrossed with other content out there if you text on the fly.  Texting can lead to addiction still if you use Web Enabled phones like the Iphone where even though you are still texting your updates you can see your friend’s Twitter updates too just like you would normally do on a home computer, so be careful.

Tips to help use Social Media effiencently

Twitter Break – Web Strategist Jeremiah Owyang has been the biggest advocate of preaching to all about taking a Twitter Break.  Twitter is a great Micro Blog service that helps connect networking, communication and business but just like any other social network platform out there if used too much can be an unhealthy habit of addiction.

Jeremiah in his blog post here shows that sometimes you must put the “Twitter” down and step away from it all and evaluate your priorities from an outside perspective without Twitter involved.  Taking a break does not mean you will stop using Social Media entirely, it just gives you time to re-evaluate your schedule and habit and make minor tweaks if necessary.  This comes highly recommended.

Schedule – Just like with any activity you want to try to incorporate into your life you might want to develop a strict schedule you can base your hobby/habit into.  I know some Twitter users won’t Tweet during work and only Tweet at night from 5-6pm.  Others have been known to only Tweet on the Weekends and others only check their Facebook profiles on Mondays, whatever your preference may be just make sure to stick with your scheduled plan.  The moment you start getting sloppy and taking over your normal schedule is the moment you take the Twitter Break step and re-evaluate.

Priortize – Now to put all the pieces together you have to come up with a game-plan in finding out your highest priorities and working your Social Media time around this, you don’t want to make Social Media your utmost priority when it really isn’t. For instance most users say that “Family comes first” and that’s great you should have time devoted to your family activities and never make Social Media take away from your family time.  Others may be work and that’s fine too never get too involved in Social Media where it prevents you from making your living and paying your bills, if you can’t pay your bills then how can you use Social Media if you can’t get on the net?

In conclusion whether you need to take a Twitter Break, Re-Schedule or Re-Prioritize, do what you got to do in order to have a healthy Social Media habit.  Social Media is great and should not treated like a bad thing but as with anything that consumes you too much or overpowers you, it can be an unhealthy habit.  Use your time wisely and Have fun!!

Post from: Social Media Vision

Being Productive In Social Media and Using Time Wisely

The 80/20% Statistic is used in Social Media to be used as a guideline when promoting your self or your business.

Many users and sites have developed similar guidelines like 1 out of 4 promotion or every other promotion.  The bottom line is that most guidelines and roles to follow can be based on the 80/20% rule in Social Media.

80% Portion

80% of your sociable content should not be based on your shameless self promotion.  This content should be used to engage other people’s work you have liked or content that has nothing to do with your promotion but rather gray area and safer subjects.

An example of a gray area content would be talking about a subject that is in your niche of field but you haven’t specifically said your own brand.   This is like going to a Mustang convention and talking about cars with people without having to notify people you are a Car Salesman.

20% Portion

This portion is where you can start promoting your content or talk about your brand.  Keep in mind, nobody likes a door-to-door sales man who constantly throws up shameless marketing that is unwanted.

Keep it simple and use common sense.  How would you like to see content in Social Media that does nothing but shamelessly promote their business and provides no substance in interaction and contributions?

Throw in your stuff sporadically and enjoy Social Media without making this a difficult task at hand.  Don’t focus on over analyzing your contributions, just keep it minimal and you will do fine.

Below are ways to incorporate the 80/20 rules in your Social Media sites

Social Bookmarking – Social Bookmarking sites like Digg have a built in community of users that engage in Social Networking on a daily basis.  These sites are not just for sharing content but also social networking.  Do not just shamelessly Digg your own content and prove no real value of other websites you find useful.  

This will blackmark you in the community and you are doing nothing but hurting yourself.  If you allow yourself to help contribute more often and become a better community member chances are you will gain more friends and better results in getting more votes.  This is a win/win situation, don’t forget to help promote your friends or your own favorite articles that is not your own.

Twitter – Twitter is crucial for real time results because users can see your Twitter persona fairly quickly and if they notice you are doing nothing but promoting your blog or not providing any value in your tweets, you will notice a decrease in followers and will gain a reputation online as a spammer.  You will see HUGE results if you apply the 80/20 rule here or 1 out of 5 tweets here. 

Social Networks – Networks like Myspace and Facebook may not be built on heavy contributions like Social Bookmarking, Twitter and Blogs but the same rules apply here if you are constantly promoting your content via wall posts or shared link content.  This is by far the most powerful way to get your promotion out there if done correctly.  

Forget about trying to sell your image and just focus on building a relationship with your new online friends.  Chances are you will get results without having to promote or ask for it by the sheer fact of online trust and reputation gained.

Blogs - Granted your blogs are whatever you want it to be and can be just a sole money making machine site that all it does is self promotions but keep in mind the most successful Bloggers out there gain much success when they don’t focus on selling and just writing valuable c0ntent.  

Once the content is established Professional Bloggers find ways of implementing their business and sales in posts sporadically and never continuously.  The 80/20 rule is being used by professional Bloggers for a long time now and you may not of realized it but the best advertising are not the ones that are most obvious.

Post from: Social Media Vision

The 80/20 Ratio Promotion Marketing In Social Media

The Movie

He’s Just Not That Into You is an American romantic comedy film of romantic misadventures of several individuals in their twenties and thirties.

The main plot is based upon the theme of Sex and the City Dialogue in which Miranda asks Berger to analyze the post-date behavior of a potential love interest. Because the man declined Miranda’s invitation to come up to her apartment after the date, stating that he has an early meeting, Berger concludes that “he’s just not that into you,” adding that “when a guy’s really into you, he’s coming upstairs, meeting or no meeting.”

The Social Media Reference

So this book has made some waves and is finally turning into a movie, sounds cliche right?  Well the whole main idea behind this book is that if a guy doesn’t ask you out, it’s not because he’s dumb, confused or scared.  He’s just not into you.

This concept can be applied to Social Media in which a user may feel rejected by not adding them to Facebook, Myspace or Twitter.  They just may not be into to you and don’t take it to heart, there are many Social Media Superstars out there that are known to ignore the vast masses and has the persona of the Social Media Snob.

It’s ok, don’t over analyze and don’t be afraid of social media.  Instead of focusing on things why you are being rejected, focus on these suggestions

• Focus on becoming a better blogger
• Focus on connecting with more people
• Focus on improving your Social Media presence
• Focus on maintaining and engaging more with your friends

Suck it up, Dry your tears and move on in your cyber world to people who will accept you rather than rejecting you

The Social Media Quotes

It’s no surprise that Social Media is popping up more pop culture and more main stream better than ever.  Below are actual movie quote references from the movie. Enjoy

Post from: Social Media Vision

He’s Just Not That Into You Social Media