Micro-Blogging or Social Networking - which Strategy for Internet Marketers?

The utilization of Blogs, Twitter (often referred to as a Micro-Blog) and/or Social Network Profiles/Pages (such as FaceBook or MySpace) has exploded exponentially in recent years, especially by online Businesses and Internet Marketers, including Affiliate and online Network Marketers, as a means to building relationships with their Friends/Followers. Some Internet Marketers swear by sticking to only one or two of these social media communication methods; while others use as many marketing tools as possible, in the hope that their message will be carried to a broader range and higher number of people.

But what are the differences between these communication tools, and which are really the best for Internet Marketers?

It's worth remembering that almost all of these online social connection tools were originally developed for personal/social networking between real people who knew each other. Businesses and Internet Marketers got involved too with social media when they realized the power of communicating online and building relationships in these ways.

They are especially popular for business purposes, because Profiles/Pages and regular messages allow marketers of big brands such as Gucci, Coca Cola, L'Oreal and Lynx the opportunity for those brands to build personal relationships with consumers or potential consumers. This is attractive to large companies, not only because it's free promotion, but because customers and potential consumers feel closer to these brands, and follow the social media messages about product updates, events and associated celebrities with interest.

Internet Marketers actually utilize the power of social media in a slightly different way, although because they're often also promoting their products/services, it may appear to outsiders to be the same process. However, there has been an increased awareness and unfolding development of online Attraction Marketing principles by online businesses and Internet Marketers over the past few years (one example of these these principles is Mike Dillard's 'Magnetic Sponsoring' training), to the extent that it's very common for almost all Internet Marketers to market themselves (something referred to as Personal Branding) as opposed to, or in addition to, marketing their products/services.

Obviously the nature of online social media is that it allows for a high degree of personalization as well as promotion, so is utilized by Internet Marketers to the full for these purposes (to the point where there is now often saturation of marketing messages, sometimes even resulting in customer disinterest).

Let's consider two of these media: the Micro-Blog (eg. Twitter) and Social Networking (eg. FaceBook).

It's important to consider the purpose and functionality of these tools. Twitter allows for quicker, less obtrusive or personal messages, and thus messages on Twitter can sometimes end up seeming to be 'a dime a dozen'. I would say that on average I myself might only click on 2-10 Twitter messages a day posted by others, while I deliberately ignore the other hundreds of messages:

• Firstly, I simply do not have the time to click through to all the links in the Tweets and then read whatever each website has to say;
• Secondly, I'm simply not interested in every single message (and this is true of everyone), even though I would regard myself as generally falling within these Internet Marketers' defined target markets (that is, I am an Internet Marketer and they are usually selling products relevant to online marketing, to other Internet Marketers);
• Thirdly, unfortunately many Twitter messages are obviously written quickly, without too much thought about who they're for and why, and often contain blatant hard-sell adjectives and tactics - which is frankly off-putting.

To address these potentially negative perceptions by those who read your Twitter messages, you need to write to-the-point Tweets which are honest and don't contain too much hard-sell hype (although, obviously some intelligent and well-considered word-usage is worthwhile). Think about how often you are posting your Tweets - try not to repeat the same message, or at least re-write it if you must. Don't forget that Internet Marketing is usually to a global market, so use time-zone differences to your advantage by re-posting Tweets at different times of your business day, when it's more likely they will be read by different Followers and in different countries, compared to your original Tweets on the same topic.

Remember that over a short period of time, such as a few days or weeks, you will essentially be posting messages to the same group of Followers (even if your group of Followers may be growing in numbers), so keep them interested by posting Tweets on different topics, and with different styles of writing and use of words.

Personally, I think FaceBook is a more friendly, comprehensive and flexible social media and marketing tool, simply because your Profile/Pages and 'status updates' (messages) can include more detail and thus can be much more personal. And because of this, I think Internet Marketers should make use of this function fully (in a genuine way). Thus, take time to give your messages a more personal feel, but at the same time, as with Twitter, be honest about what it is you're promoting and how it will help your FaceBook Friends. As you have much more space on your FaceBook Profile/Pages and can incorporate various supplementary media, build your Profile and Pages with care, so that they really reach out and touch your readers. Rather than simply listing facts about you, your company or products, let them into your life a little by telling a story - your story. Make it real, so that your Friends (many of whom you probably don't know personally, and will never meet in person) feel that they know you, and better still, like you as a person.

Despite the increased flexibility and personalization of FaceBook, it's worth remembering that Twitter too will remain hugely popular for the forseeable future. Micro-Blogging and Social Networking each have their advantages and disadvantages, and are two different media, especially for marketing purposes. Nevertheless, there is one thing that must simply never be overlooked when using these tools for marketing: your Friends and Followers will quite simply prefer what you have to say if you have bothered to communicate as a real person with them.

Twitter is a social connection tool, enabling people/companies to communicate with their 'Followers' via short messages/'Tweets' (of maximum 140 characters). It is similar to a Blog, because it is designed for Tweets to be posted on a regular basis; but because it also enables account holders to store a brief Profile for followers to read, and communication is restricted to one's group of Followers, it overlaps in some respects with other social media like social networking sites. Twitter is most powerful when a range of different but well-constructed messages are posted to Followers at regular intervals - frequently enough to reach the maximum numbers of Followers with relevant messages, and yet not too frequently so as to irritate or isolate them.

FaceBook is one of the most commonly used social networking sites. Again, like Twitter, members have a Profile and a network of 'Friends' (equivalent to Followers, because they can be made up of anyone who desires to follow you with your agreement). However one's FaceBook Profile is more detailed and can be customized to a higher degree than in Twitter, thus can include photo albums, videos, links, etc. A relatively new feature is for account holders to also have Pages, similar to web-pages or store-windows, in which they can list company or product information, and attract 'Fans'.

Having used both Twitter and FaceBook, amongst other online connection tools, for my own Internet Marketing efforts, I would say there are a number of key factors and differences which you do need to consider when using these two forms of social media for marketing. I'd love to hear about your experiences too...