Is Unfriending Social Networking "Friends" an Offense or Smarter Way to Build Your Business?

  Written by Eric Walker on Jan 7, 2009 10:53 am

Read More: Marketing  |  Social Networking

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From the blog of Charles Heflin - Do You Have a Bunch of Worthless Friends?

"What is the meaning of a “friend” in social media?

We know who our friends are in real life… Has the Internet changed the definition or terms of friendship?

We create friends in the offline world because we have things in common. You scratch my back, I scratch yours… We feed each others interests… It’s never discussed, it’s just what friends do.

The same should apply to online friends… You share something in common, feed the interest, share, comment and reward your online friends so that the connection goes a little deeper and you are granted mind-share from the other party becuase you “scratched their back”… The unspoken law.

Mind-share is what we are all after in our online endeavors… Always remember, when someone gives you their attention (mind-share) then you have increased your reach. Reach is never determined by the size of your friends list, it is determined by how many are paying attention." - Charles Heflin.

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I remember back in kindergarten, days before school started, I was concerned about making friends. I remember telling my mom that I wanted to have friends that liked me, but I didn't want friends that I didn't like.We practiced at the kitchen table.

The final conclusion was this: Ask them if they would like to be your friend...if they say "yes," play with them outside on the playground...if you each have a good time playing, they're a good friend.

All through the year, my mom and I returned to this conversation, What is a friend? And it extended to how often we play with each other and their behavior in the classroom.

When first grade started, it was interesting to see who were acquaintances and who were friends.

Purging Your Profile of Friends at the Social Networking Sites (Facebook in Particular)

Is unfriending social networking "friends" an offense or a smarter, more effective way to find value and create a connection that grows closer to "mind share?"

Social networks encourage users to share more videos, games, invitations to join causes or groups and fan clubs - participation is what makes social networking work. But if you aren't participating with these extra "friends," are they just creating a lot of extra noise? 

How many of your friends are misbehaving by pitching you on their business (Web Prosperity comes to mind); or how many of your friends have added you to their email lists?

Are You "Just There" Gathering Useless Friends on (Facebook) or Do You Have a Social Media Strategy that Seeks to Make Your Time Worthwhile?

Charles Heflin talks about O.G.R.E.S. which is a formula for building relationships on the social networking sites. For some of you, you may be thinking that this is shallow or heavy handed, and that it appears that the only reason we participate in social networking sites is to turn a dollar. 

But that's NOT the case, just the opposite. The point I'm trying to make is that following a formula (such as OGRES) is a means to provide quality, build relationships of value and be seen as a "following leader" and/or a leader (an authority). As opposed to just having a lot of friends that create more noise and distraction than anything else.

The Delicate Ettiquette of Defining Online Social Norms Will Be Left to It's Users

2009 has been dubbed by some to be the year of social media. And you will notice that the most successful social media marketers have figured out how to both create value, provide quality content, build relationships and be seen as an authority (or at least a "following leader") while still having a defined and intentional social media marketing approach.

For example, find this comment left by Marketing Merge which was left at an article I wrote called How Marketing Merge Attracted Thousands of Paying Customers Using Social Media Marketing in Less Than a Year? One of the telling points that Marketing Merge (Mike Klingler) made was when using social media to build his business he set out to do this intentionally, and let it happen organically. Then making the point that the two go hand in hand with social media.

======================== Leave Your Thoughts =======================

I'm Eric Walker. I teach attraction marketing to beginners and intermediate marketers by helping them with the essential "set up" of their online marketing. I'm also an aspiring social media marketing expert who is currently undertaking SEO Networker Mastermind with Ferny and Ray.  I'm also a happy Marketing Merge customer, and a member of their super guide program. 

If you'd like to learn more about me, go to my blog www.EricWalkerMarketing.com and see my works in progress.

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