The only social networking strategy that works

There is a lot of debate in the entrepreneurial community on the effectiveness of social networking. The reason why they are in disagreement over the return they can receive from social networking is because only the ones who do it right understand how well it can work.

The truth is that if you do social networking incorrectly, you are not just wasting your time. You are also at risk of damaging your brand image. There are many different strategies that you can use in social media, but all of the successful ones are build on a common foundation.

Before you begin social networking, it is essential you determine what you want to become in the social networking universe. There is no right or wrong in what you decide to become, but it is still something that you have to decide before you begin your campaign.

Next, you must decide what you need to do to achieve this goal. More specifically, you define:

• What networks you will use?
• What groups you use within those networks?
• Which people and companies you network with?

Within each of the three elements of this paradigm, there are choices that will help and hurt your efforts. Don’t associated with those people or groups that are inconsistent with your message!

Finally, you must carefully study the communities you would like to participate in. Make the most of your social networking efforts by going with the flow and leveraging trends, rather than making random decisions or fighting the tide. Millions of people are using social networking and you must know how to speak so your voice is listened. Otherwise, you will be drowned out by the noise.

Developing a successful social networking strategy is not impossible. You simply need to know how to go about marketing and branding yourself the right way.

If you want to learn more, read Five Steps to Developing a Successful Social Networking Strategy.