Who is The Fastest Growing Crowd in Social Networks?

Social networking is for the GenY crowd, right? Nope, absolutely not, I am a 46 year old guy and have been active in social networks for years. And I am not alone in the boomer crowd.

Each forum, blog, social networking site, or hub subscribed to has its own unique persona and will require time and effort to have a positive effect. It's about branding and relationships. For me, it’s mostly pleasure but sometimes I get called upon to contribute with my true expertise…which I gladly volunteer. After spending a couple years in the social space there are many observations I have made along my journey. In this case study I present my findings using analytics and human

interaction observance. I have taken the information I discuss briefly into account formulating a mind map of a variety of simple social approaches for business. This is an amazing time to be considering branding your business in social networks such as Twitter or Facebook. I am not talking about spam...it's about people as you will discover after reading this case study.

Don't Sell it, Sell You!

Who is struggling with how to approach the social side of the Internet for business, put up your hand? There are millions of people out there everyday that legitimately need help and can’t seem to find it. Don’t misunderstand me, it’s not like you are going to plug into a social network and start billing @ $150/hr my fine lawyer friend. If you have spent any quality time in social networks like Facebook, Twitter or YouTube you know that it’s people helping people, laughing, sharing in losses, etc---not much different than the way we all live our lives away from the screen. So, my first lesson learned was...If you march into a network and start shouting “buy me” it will bite you right in the arse. Marketing experts cannot help but see the huge potential, sadly traditional marketers do not fair well in social networks. Later in this article I will explain why, but for now let's try to tackle the marketer's number one question.

How Can We Convert This Into Action?

This is not a straightforward question based on the research I have done and studied. What I am about to tell you is the easiest way I could possibly think of to answer the question in the heading. If you create too much HYPE it causes doubt & uncertainly. Generally that scenario translates to NO ACTION taken! Moreover, it's not who you know, it's who knows you that is godly and talked about you. For better or worst the influencers in social networks carry allot of power. There has to be something in it for them to bless (endorse) your idea. I am not talking about $$, each influential person has a large group of followers that follow them for a reason. That means you need to spend time and understand who's who. When you bring a business product into the social gates you are wide opened to complements, complaints and criticism. You better be there to discuss it or your name may become mud. It can be rewarding, enlightening, disappointing and great feedback from your market. If you have done your homework, the people that are looking at your idea already are interested in it.

Social Marketing is in the Now

Your friends, family, prospects and clients are a part of this growing trend in social networking. The newest influx of social networking sign ups is not teenagers; they are people in business and baby boomers. But don’t take my word for it, this social marketing book teaches you how to tap into the honest people online that are using social networks to solve problems. On the next page I have written a summary of the important aspects of marketing yourself in the social space. You want to note, it is my take on a subject that is misunderstood by the majority or people and top marketers are only beginning to understand it.