Editor's Note: This is a Guest post from Neal Hopps.
Just the other day I answered an email from an old friend. He had decided to reach out to me because he was having a very hard time understanding why he wasn't getting any real traffic to his website from his social media pages. So I decided to take a look for myself. They had everything that a good social media page should have.
So what's the problems?
After a brief phone conversation we came to this conclusion:
He just wasn't using social media effectively. It wasn't so much what he was doing, it was more how he was doing it. He just wasn't proficient in the ways of social media.
He was under the impression that most people are unfortunately. That you can just put up a profile on any social site and start gathering names and prospecting and then - POOF! Your rich.
This is not the case. There isn't anything further from the truth really.
The people who are good using social media - I mean REALLY good have spent time, money and energy mastering social media. They are true students of the art of building relationships. They dominate and control the arena of permission marketing to the point that it's like tying their shoes. They are the people who no matter what product they produce people buy. They are not always marketers at heart - their number one love is helping people.
So how do you get your piece of social media?
There are qualified social media coaches, consultants, and entrepreneurs who will be more than helpful in your social media projects. There are social media courses that you can take online in which to make you a better social media manager. Or you can try to make social media be an afterthought - but I wouldn't advise that.
in 2011, I predict that social media will burn less hot, but more consistent than it ever has before. In the past, it's been a buzzword burning hot with the opportunity to grow like wildfire. I think it's going to cool only slightly as people learn in this year the power of the relationship unlike any time in the past.
To really build a successful business is to build a successful relationship. If you will take the time to build and cultivate that relationship, then you might actually be able to make it around in the crazy online business world.