Making Yourself Heard on Social Networks

In the 90s, the Internet was used as a one way street. Corporations would serve us products; we bought them. During the next decade, Internet use became interactive. We, the users, demanded tools that we can use to communicate with each other. Enter social networks.

You've heard the buzz about social networks like Facebook and Twitter, but are a bit leery to join. What are people doing on those social networks? Wasting valuable work time? Social networks are valuable tools that connect small groups around content.

Don't let this decade pass you by without joining a social network. Follow these steps to tread the final days of web 2.0.

Develop a niche based on your hobby. You must have something to offer to others to create a web identity. Photos of your weekend excursions will suffice for close family and friends, but will not gain you audience. After a while, even your mother will not care about your recent updates without relevant content. Choose an experienced hobby so you can have an authoritative voice.

Create a blog or home page. The most popular blogging sites are Google's Blogger and Wordpress. If you're already have a Google account, choose Blogger, otherwise choose Wordpress. This host has numerous plug-ins that add content to your layout.

A Facebook account brings your social network into cyberspace. Add your family members and friends. You no longer have to attend family events, just watch the photos after the fact.
(This step is optional. If you have a blog, you don't need a Facebook account).

Link other social networks to your accounts. Do you have an Orku account? Myspace? Instant Messenger? All of these accounts have widgets that can interact with your blog. Take some time to learn how to export these widgets to your blog. Most networks provide a wizard that guides you step by step. You want all communication sources feeding into your blog.

Become active on message boards. You're probably already involved in message boards based on your hobby or niche. If you're new to message boards, search Boardreader and join one.In your signature, add a link to your blog. If you want to get fancy, you can use Wisestamp, which creates custom social media signatures.

Contribute to other blogs. Support other's blogs with comments. Make sure you keep the same username across unique comment forms. Comments like "nice" and "great" are worthless. Add insightful commentary on the entry. Offer an answer to the blog post's question. Recommend a resource that relates to the topic. You may even extend your new relationship to a position on their blogroll.

Create a Twitter account. You've done the hard work of setting up an account and engaging others, now it's time to tell the world. Many have referred to Twitter as a micro-blogging tool. This is incorrect. Twitter is a microbroadcast tool. Publicize your blog posts on Twitter. Mention your posts to specific followers who may be interested. Let them become your free publicity. Word of the mouth is the fastest way to publicize an event.

Automate publication. Using the Blogger and WordPRess editors, you can automate your posts. Spend a Sunday developing posts and schedule them to post during the week. If you don't want to spend your life on Twitter, there is also a solution. You can automate tweets using Twuffer and Tweet Later.

Add content on a regular schedule.
Begin with two items a week and add more as you build a following. You want to give people the opportunity to read your articles in their feed and comment. Infrequent posts will have people think you've abandoned your blog. They will stop visiting your blog and unsubscribe from your feed.

Use the tools to share. Social networks offer us a unique way to communicate. To be heard, you need to have something relevant to contribute and the tools to share.
If you get overwhelmed with maintenance, use Ping.fm which will update all your social networks at once. Most importantly, build a relationship with your readers, followers, and subscribers by offering unique content.

Source: Net