Social Media is Dead...

 
Didn’t you hear the news? Social Media is dead. It’s gone…completely worthless. 
 
“Now HOLD on a second here Todd. Have you flipped your marbles completely out of your head? Are you ok? Should I be worried?”
 
No, I haven’t lost my marbles. My head is completely in tact. 
 
In fact, Social Media IS alive, well, kicking, thriving…in fact BOOMING. And not just booming…but downright monstrous in size.  
 
Social Media’s been booming for a LONG time, way before Social Media was even called “Social Media.”
 
There’s probably a very good chance that you are using or are involved in Social Media, at least in some capacity (or…at least you should be) right now. 
 
As of February 1, 2010, Facebook is the #2 most trafficked website in the entire world, followed by YouTube, with Twitter coming in at #12. There are obviously other Social Media websites, but I’ll leave it at that for now.  
 
Here’s some absolutely BEYOND AMAZING STATS for you on Facebook (Source: Facebook)
 
-         More than 350 million active users
-         50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
-         More than 35 million users update their status each day
-         More than 55 million status updates posted each day
-         More than 2.5 billion photos uploaded to the site each month
-         More than 3.5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week
-         More than 3.5 million events created each month
-         More than 1.6 million active Pages on Facebook
-         More than 700,000 local businesses have active Pages on Facebook
-         Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans
 
If you want to read ALL of their stats, you can go to: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics
 
So, when I said that Social Media is DEAD, the point I wanted to make is this…
 
If you don’t follow the rules…even though they are largely unwritten, you’ll get canned, create a bad rap for yourself, and any of the time you invest in Social Media Platforms will all be in vain. 
 
In other words, if you don’t ACT RIGHT, Social Media for IS dead…at least for you. 
 
But, you know what? This stuff is so good and has such significant potential for you and your business, that you absolutely DO NOT want to blow it. 
 
I’m not assuming that you are…but I’m making and reiterating a point I made recently about BEHAVING ON FACEBOOK. 
 
Some people simply DON’T know what to do and not do, what’s acceptable, what’s tolerable…and what’s completely intolerable and downright weak. 
 
If you didn’t watch my friend Buzzy Boxer talk recently on my video blog titled “How to Behave and Get Results on Facebook”, you should go watch it, then return to this. 
 
It’s a little goofy, but Buzzy’s a little odd anyway. So…he’s just being him. 
 
You can watch it here: 
http://blog.toddfalcone.com/how-to-behave-and-get-results-on-facebook/
 
 
Things to DO and NOT DO on Facebook
 
 
What I’m going to share with you is in my opinion, based on how to act in a social setting. 
 
And…in the case of this particular writing, I’m talking from the context of Facebook…since it is the #2 most trafficked site on the web. 
 
Before I get into this…picture these “social” situations, and ponder whether or not they would be considered “acceptable” behavior or not. 
 
Would it would be acceptable to be nude on a nude beach? Yes. 
 
Would it be acceptable to be naked on the streets of New York? Probably not…unless you’re that cowboy dude. 
 
Would it be acceptable to cuss in church? No. 
 
Would it be considered acceptable for you to blow your tobacco smoke into an infant’s face (or anyone for that matter)? Nope. 
 
Would people like it if you got drunk and puked on them? Doubt it. 
 
Would it be generally considered ok to walk into a stranger’s house and borrow their car without asking? Nope. 
 
I wanted to bring up these SOCIAL situations and then simply applying those same thoughts into how we behave in Social Media platforms move into like Facebook. 
 
So…what to do and not do on Facebook…
 
When you set up your profile account, DO it in your REAL name. Remember, this is a place where you are there to network and meet PEOPLE, not to hook up and have relationships with acronyms, company names, or product names. People want to hook up with YOU…and then they can learn more about what you DO, if they want to. Fake names, company names, logos, product names…are all considered generally unacceptable behavior.
 
DO use a real and current picture of YOU. Why would an individual put a picture of some hot model as their Facebook shot if that really isn’t them? A picture of your product is just stupid. Logos are ridiculous. This isn’t CompanyBook.com or LogoBook.com. It’s FACEBOOK. An 80’s shot? Come on! First of all…80’s hair was bad. People want to see you…as who you are NOW.    
 
DO upload lots of photos into your account. There’s your spot for the 80’s shot and other new and old shots of who you are, what you’re into now and have been in the past…kind of a snapshot of your life. The more the merrier on Facebook.  
 
DO Tag Properly. Seriously. Come on. People trip on this. It’s like they have an addiction to tagging or something. It’s just NOT good. Oh…just in case you don’t know what “tagging” is on Facebook, it’s the ability to “attach” someone’s Facebook account name (which should again…be your REAL name) to the photo that was uploaded. So…perhaps you were IN that photo. They could “tag” you and that photo would appear on your wall. I’ll cover walls in a second. 
 
People OFTEN make the HUGE MISTAKE (a deadly one) of tagging people in things that they shouldn’t really be tagged in. And…what it does is generally reduce the possibility of remaining “friends” on Facebook. People get un-friended all the time. You don’t want to be un-friended. It even sounds bad saying it. 
 
If you want to be a cool person on Facebook that people like, you simply “Tag”  properly. Tagging people in photos and videos are really the two primary sources of doing so properly. But…have a little respect here as well. If you have a bad photo of somebody doing something they shouldn’t be doing, or is even questionable AT ALL, you don’t EXPOSE IT to the world by putting it up on Facebook and tagging it. 
 
This is ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE behavior on Facebook. Here are some DON’TS in the tagging category. 
 
- Tagging people in a promotion for a webinar or presentation for your company that they aren’t actually involved in at any capacity. Some people, either plain stupid or completely uninformed do this, thinking that it will add traffic to them because the “other person’s” friends will see the post. That’s plain WEAK. That’s how people get black-listed and ruin their reputation. 
 
- Spamming someone’s wall. Spamming someone’s wall is when you go over there and promote yourself. That’s simply garbage. Never, EVER go to someone’s wall and pitch your deal in ANY way. People will literally HATE you for this…in Facebook terms of course.
 
- Tagging people in ANYTHING they aren’t really in. I personally don’t want someone else essentially “attaching me” to something I’m not in, endorsing, or involved in at any capacity. I don’t think you do either. 
 
- Playing Games on Facebook. If you’re into playing games, that’s sweet. And…perhaps Facebook is just a place to “play” for you. But…if you are using Facebook from a “business” standpoint, like many people do, there’s no time for playing games. I’m not saying this is completely unacceptable behavior, but it certainly isn’t productive…at all. 
 
- Shortcutting actually kills you. Here it is straight. I get the idea of want to build relationships and attract lots of friends, but you want to KEEP them. What you think might “quickly” help you propel something forward, really doesn’t. What I mean by shortcutting is using any tactic where you are essentially “stealing’ people from others without having any real relationship with them or their list of friends. 
 
DO Tell Us About the Real You. Don’t be shy with giving information and about yourself, unless it would compromise your personal safety. As an example, if you are a single mom living alone, you don’t want to be giving out your home address. But, people want to know you. So…fill us in. 
 
Be Consistent, but Keep Track of Time. Life happens every day. To bring your life to your Facebook page, you should be consistent. Popping in once a week or once a month isn’t at all conducive to relationship building, regardless of what your objective may be. Logging in once or twice a day for five to ten minutes TOTAL could be enough to keep the momentum of relationship growth in play. But…careful not to get sucked down the “rabbit hole”. It can happen quite easily…hours and hours of Facebooking with nothing but sore fingers to show for it. 
 
Interact. This is pretty much what it’s all about. If you are on Facebook, interact with people. Say hi. Check in. Get to know people. Make friends…for real. 
 
Like and Comment. You have the opportunity to LIKE something somebody posts on their Facebook page. Perhaps someone puts a funny video up that you laughed at. You can press the LIKE button next to the post and creates more of a connection with the poster. You’re giving “props” to something they did, said or posted…and people like props. COMMENT on stuff. If somebody says something and you have something to say in return, say it. This is probably one of the most critical areas of focus in building relationships (real ones) on your Facebook page. 
 
WARNING! Don’t over LIKE stuff or COMMENT on everything. Be sincere. Comment when it’s right and you feel it. LIKE stuff you really like. If you overdo this…you could essentially be spamming in this category as well. 
 
When you add a Friend, Personalize it. When you go to “add new friend” on Facebook, write the potential new friend a little personal message. (i.e. “Hey Todd…been following your Monday calls for a while. Love your stuff…and it would be great to connect with you on Facebook. – Raymond”)
 
THAT is the way you do a friend add on Facebook!  I ain’t joking. Guaranteed, more people will accept your friend request when you personalize it. 
 
Don’t Send Too Many Personal Messages. Within Facebook, you can essentially send your Friends email. If you send out too many emails, Facebook will shut you down…quickly. This is not a place to grow a Friend list and send the same email to 100 of them about your deal. In fact…you’d never even get to 100 because Facebook will slam your account closed before you get even close. If you want to send a private message to someone, do it.   But don’t blast it…or you’ll get blasted right out of Facebook. If you want to reach a lot of people for the same purpose, a Fan Page or Group is more conducive to that happening. 
 
Connect with Influencers and Ease in. Alright…I should be charging for this stuff, especially with what I’m about to share. Influencers are people who have LOTS of friends and followers in the same main Category of Interest for you. Since you’re a reader or follower of mine, chances are that that category we’re talking about is Home Business, Network Marketing, Direct Sales, or Entrepreneurship.  
 
When you connect with people of Influence, you are creating the potential of magnifying the number of relationships you can build by a MEGA factor…if you do it right, and politely. Without going too deep into this subject, what I’m telling you here is that if you COMMENT, LIKE, TAG, or POST where people have lots of mutually interested followers and friends, things can skyrocket for you. 
 
But…they can also slam you. Bring VALUE to whatever you do or say. Be RESPECTABLE. Use COMMON SENSE. And…THINK before you ACT. 
 
Hope this helps you Facebookers out there! Social Media is powerful. 
 
Todd Falcone
http://www.ToddFalcone.com