Social Media Marketing Maverick

I think I have a slight case of Facebook Fatigue… If I get one more group message inviting me to an event 4,000 miles away I don’t really want to say what I will do, it’s not polite for ladies to say such things (as my mother would say).

Please (she ducks) don’t throw rotten tomatoes at me just yet…I think Facebook is still the most “fun” social network for business I’ve ever seen.

It just also has the ability to quickly fritter away MEGA time (a nice way of saying “time-suck) if you don’t have what my friend Kevin Nations calls a “Profit Strategy”. In other words, a real business model, with a sales system that can turn all that socializing into bottom line dollars and cents - eventually, after you’ve established your social hierarchy, trust and likeability.

Because at the end of the day, we all know that people buy from people they know and people they like - and how can you not like someone who has the audacity to throw Paris Hilton at you? (umm, yep, I’m talking to you Rodney Rumford, FaceReviews Guru ;-))

It’s been my observation over the past 4 years of working with mega-entrepreneurs (John Assaraf, Les Brown, Scott Martineau, most recently, Jerry Conti, my Purpose Posse over at HUB - Humanity Unites Brilliance) that the truly successful 7 & 8 figure + business owners create the sandbox and invite others to play with them, not the other way around.

In other words, they throw the party (or seminar) and collect 50% from the people they put on the platform in front of their audience.

Or better yet, they are the ONLY ones speaking on their platform, it’s their platform, and they aren’t afraid to use it. When you think of it, when have you ever seen Tony Robbins share his stage with someone else? VERY seldom. And if he does, they’re usually delivering his programs, not theirs.

There’s something to be said for continuity and a gated community.

I’ve been quietly playing over at Ning.com, where you can create your own social network with ease.

Now I’m “easing” several of my clients into developing their own private online communities where it’ll be all them, all the time. And, as Lady Fortune (or Law of Attraction would have it, my “Diamond Rolodex” delivered the ideal connection once again - a client introduced me to my new best friend, who is a “Ning Ninja”, and very good friends with Ning.com co-founders…if that isn’t attraction in action, I don’t know what is!

What’s really cool about Ning is the fact that you can private label it for your business - use your own domain name, display your own ads, and even remove their branding. The main consideration in setting it up is what your strategy will be to:

• Get people to come (for what will they come?)
• Get them to engage (why will they stay?)
• Get them to come back
• Get them to tell their friends

Another way to use the private label function is to use it as your own membership site - I know of at least one very well known spiritual teacher who is doing this with great success. She charges a monthly subscription that includes weekly audio, a monthly teleseminar and ongoing access and conversations.

And she gets their full attention, because they’re paying her for what she has that they want. Can we say “social network profit model”?

Works for me. What say you?

Technorati Tags create a social network, create your own social network, facebook, michelle price, ning, roi social media, social media profit model, social network

Google’s been hot to really get in on the social media game and you know they don’t play around. They’ve been acquiring Web 2.0 social media sites (like YouTube for $1.6BILLION) for a while now.

This just in, and almost ready for prime time - Google Friend Connect.

According to Google, Google Friend Connect lets you grow traffic by easily adding social features to your website. I just watched the WHOLE video below…and it blew me away.

(and for those of you who know me, you know that’s NO mean feat - most folks can’t talk fast enough or get to the point fast enough for me to watch very long

I also think it might be a woman thing - any women out there who prefer to watch a looooong video online?

Anyway. Essentially, it would appear that Google Friend Connect provides you with a variety of tools that  turn your static, boring, flat website into a full-blown social scene that lets your users interact with each other with ease.

Visitors will be able (should they be compelled by your content) to log-in and “be sociable” using accounts they already have with Google (of course!), AOL Screen Names, Yahoo! and OpenID (see mine at http://www.ClaimID.com/michelleprice )

Once they do, all their friends in their other networks will be able to see what they’ve found, and can follow them to a new resource (you!).

And this is just the tip of the iceberg, dear friends.  We are on our way to a truly connected web - Global Mind - the question is, what are you going to do to make sure you are in the loop?  Check it out:

Technorati Tags global mind, google friend connect, killer app, open social, social media trends, social network