Seven Secrets of Social Media Magnets

By Hector Cisneros
 

Courtesy of Flickr

Every year I look back and try to put in words the social media principle I have discovered over the last seven years. I call these principles the seven secrets of social media magnets because using these secrets produces magnetic positive results. In other words, using these principles draws followers to you in a way that is good for them and for you. My secrets don’t use trickery or black hat techniques to game the system. Conversely, I pride myself on using universal principles and techniques that provide real value to both the audience and the player alike. So read on and enjoy the seven secrets of social media magnets.

English: Wordle Cloud Definition of Social Commerce - All Definitions of "Social Commerce" added to http://www.wordle.net from http://socialcommercetoday.com/social-commerce-definition-word-cloud-definitive-definition-list/ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Secret #1: Add Value to the World – Only Post Useful Content What is useful? Content that is deemed useful by your particular audience! Your post must be purposeful, entertaining, meaningful, connecting or visually/audibly pleasing. People join social networks to get something out of it for them! No one joins to be sold to! If you want to sell, have your happy customers “sing your praises” by asking them privately to post testimonials, recommendations or positive stories of how you helped them. Your only other option is to
                                                                                  participate in pay per click advertising.

proactive logo small (Photo credit: s_falkow)

Secret #2: Be Proactive This means take the time to learn more than the basics of each social network. There are tons of free video tutorials on YouTube covering the most popular social networks. Every major social network has built-in self-help services for their subscribers. Even a Google search will yield free sites that offer tutorials.

Also, be ready to help others first and be willing to share your knowledge with your audience. Helping others learn the ropes is a great way to build an audience and to spread goodwill and attract followers.

This image was selected as a picture of the week on the Czech Wikipedia for th week, 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Secret #3: Be Positive - Positive people are like magnets. They draw others to them. Nobody will follow a negative person for very long. Being hateful, cursing and airing your dirty laundry will only get you “un-followed”, “un-friended” and “disconnected”. Being negative just scares people away. Being positive will draw followers to you. Then, if provide your followers with useful post, (positive value-added information) they will stay and look forward to more. Then they will invite others to follow as well.

Thank You (Photo credit: mandiberg)

Secret #4: Give Thanks! Always thank those who follow you, communicate with you or comment on your post. Giving thanks is a universal way of connecting with people. It fills an inner need not filled in other ways. Just imagine how you feel when someone thanks you! Always thank others for their contribution, questions, and engaging posts. A “Thank you” is a great way to engage people and to get them started in your conversation.

Secret #5: Be Consistent Posting in social media should be more like the tortoise than the hare! It's not about the race, it’s more about the journey. Posting too much too often and too soon is not the way to go. A steady stream of posts spread out over many hours, days and weeks are much better than a flood! The same is true for generating followers and fans. Just inviting five people a day to follow you will normally yield more than 1,300 followers in a year, (5X365=1,825) even if you receive a 25% drop out rate!

Budapest: Heroes’ Square: Andrássy Avenue: King Stephen and his Magyar Followers (Photo credit: bill barber)

Secret #6: Follow the Leaders! Always follow the leaders in your industry. Then follow the followers of the leaders. If you focus on an industry, a niche, you are on the right track. Every industry has leaders who everyone pays attention to. That is your target audience. By first following them, you will get their attention. Then by inviting them to follow you, you will grow your audience.

Secret #7: Use Leverage to multiply your effectiveness!  There are two types of leverage in social media. The first is inside leverage or what I call leverage techniques. Things - like using hashtags on Twitter or inviting followers in one social network to follow you on another are good examples. Things like posting links to all your internet properties on every social network you belong to or combining blog posts, with video and social links to amplify reach, are a few more examples. Even simple things like posting pictures, videos, and podcasts on your social sites and then sharing them across multiple social platforms all are ways of leveraging your efforts.

Logo der Fernsehserie Leverage (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The second type of social leverage is the use of software tools. This includes tools like aggregation programs like Hoot Suite and Tweet Deck for individuals, agency software tools like Hoot Suite Pro, Hub Spot all in One, or Google’s Wildfire and any of the Smartphone or browser applets like Hootlet or Social Hub to get things done. These tools can easily cut your work time in half. All of these tools allow you to leverage your time and efforts by either allowing you to quickly create posts, scheduling your post in the future or by allowing you to post to multiple social nets simultaneously.

Following these seven secrets will guide you to success. As a matter of fact, following these principles will help you find your social media voice. These principles allow you to be a positive influence in the world. They will help you establish your social media style! You will be “real” to those you touch and in turn, they will appreciate your contribution. This appreciation will lead to trust and credibility, which in turn leads to sales! As an internet and digital marketing professional, these principles guide my digital life. I have followed these principles for more than three years now and I am amazed how they have positively affected my career and life.

If you liked this article, share it with your friends and associate. If you have a different opinion, share it with us in the comment section below. I always give thanks for being able to share my opinion with you and since it's Thanksgiving time, I give thanks for all I have and I hope you give thanks too. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

That’s my opinion, I look forward to reading yours!

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Hector Cisneros is COO and director of Social Media Marketing at Working the Web to Win, an award-winning Internet marketing company based in Jacksonville, Florida.  He is also co-host of the weekly Internet radio show, "Working the Web To Win" on BlogTalkRadio.com, which airs every Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern. Hector is a syndicated writer and published author of “60 Seconds to Success.”

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