The following is an excerpt from Mari Smith’s chapter of  Success Secrets Of The Social Media Marketing Superstars (Entrepreneur Press August 2010)

Facebook is the brainchild of Mark Zuckerberg and co-founders Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes, and Eduardo Saverin. The college friends launched Facebook from their Harvard dorm room in February, 2004. For the first two years, Facebook was only available to colleges. Then, gradually, Facebook opened their doors to the general public along with opening their API up to third party application developers. The newest gold rush began!

Since 2006, Facebook has continued to increase in popularity and always seems to stay one step ahead of the competition such as LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, even Google – in terms of being the most popular site for connecting with friends, family, colleagues, etc.

I have great admiration for Mark Zuckerberg. He’s a modern day visionary – I often liken him to Bill Gates back in the 1980s.

Mark’s mission for Facebook is “to give people the power to share, and help make the world more open and connected such that world problems might be solved.”

Social networking, particularly Facebook, has completely changed the way we do business and the way we connect, build, and maintain our relationships on both a personal and professional basis.

These are my “rules” for succeeding on Facebook – you’re welcome to adopt them if they speak to you:

1. Always be yourself.

I often talk about a concept I created called “ABM” which stands for many things, including: Always Be Me, Always Be Mindful and Always Be Marketing. Two words that are frequently used in the social media world are “authentic” and “transparent.” To me, when you apply ABM, you’ll always do the right thing anyway.

By being mindful – realizing you never know who might be observing your updates, posts and photos on Facebook, for example – you can be in full control of how you build your reputation and perception among your strategically chosen Facebook friends.

The part about “always be marketing” essentially means every time you show up online or offline, even if you’re having a conversation with one person while all your followers/fan/subscribers observe, you are still marketing yourself.

There is a widespread fear when it comes to using social networks, and that is PRIVACY. Just how much personal information should you reveal about yourself? Here’s the thing – you get to choose. Sure, the lines are blurred between our personal and professional lives, but you still get to maintain a private life.Fortunately, of all the social networks, Facebook has the most granular privacy settings.

2. Stay Focused

We live in an attention-based world now more than ever. Social networking has accelerated the amount of information available and the demands for our attention. People often just have a nanosecond to see you go by and decide whether you’re a fit for their network or not.

Across all social networks, it’s important to display total clarity in what you do, who you help and how you help them in your bio. Be careful of overdoing the links on your Facebook profile – I recommend just showing your website/blog along with a link to your Twitter profile, YouTube channel and LinkedIn profile, as appropriate.

On your Facebook personal profile and on your fan page, there is a small field under your photo that I call your “mini bio.” Here, you can fill out a succinct sentence or two and possibly include a call to action and a link such as I have in the screenshot to the left.

3. Have an abundance mindset.

I truly believe there’s enough for everyone and there’s no such thing as competition, particularly when in a service-based business. And, essentially, even if you sell a commodity/widgets, you’re still selling them with a degree of service.

4. To be an authority, you must be an author (writer/publisher of content).

Facebook gives us tremendous opportunity to publish a wide variety of content types, from photos, videos, links, notes, comments and more. By regularly updating your Status (ideally once per day at minimum), you can literally deliberately manage how you’re perceived among your network. In other words, everything you post should be with strategic intent. The more content you produce, the more authority and credibility you will command. In fact, author Gary Vaynerchuk talks about how every business should get into the content business!

5. Be generous. Give your best stuff away.

If you’re passionate about your topic, you’ll never run out of content. By giving your best stuff away for free in your Status update and imported blog posts, for example, your network will think that if you’re this knowledgeable and generous with your free stuff your paid stuff must be awesome!

6. Lead by example.

Stay informed – look for ways to stay just one step ahead of others in your industry and lead with a sense of confidence and grace. It’s not a race, per se, but you do want to demonstrate you’re on top of your game, knowledgeable… and that you’re human and still have a life! In other words, you don’t really need to try and appear like you’re online 24/7 – it’s important to set up realistic expectations among your friends and fans.

7. If content is king, connection is queen.

For some time, my motto has been “Relationships first, business second.” Since social networking has become so popular, we’ve shifted the way we do business… both online and offline. Consumers expect companies to be more approachable, human, engaging. Content does matter for sure, though it’s often the connection and conversation around that content that really brings it to life.

When the marketers move in, the members move out.” So the secret, therefore, that has certainly worked very well for me is to be a member! Of course, you’re a strategically-thinking member!

8. Implement “Radical Strategic Visibility.”

I created the concept of radical strategic visibility in 2007 and it’s worked extremely well for me, my clients and students. Essentially, you are seen by all the right people, in all the right places, at all the right times. People come up to you and say, “I keep seeing you everywhere.” And you reply with, “Great!! My marketing is working!”

While it’s vital to your business to have a vibrant presence on Facebook with an attractive and active Fan Page, you need to also have a presence on other popular social networks such as Twitter and YouTube. And then there is a whole range of ancillary sites that affect your presence on WordPress blogs, for example, like Gravatar.com, MyBlogLog.com and BlogCatalog.com and Google Friend Connect.

9. Take imperfect action and be patient.

Facebook can be overwhelming to really grasp and optimize for measurable business results. My advice is to get set up with a Facebook Fan Page and begin to add content. It’s not realistic to expect you’ll have a ton of fans right away – unless of course you have a large mailing list and can easily blast out to them and have a surge of fans. In any case, go for it and remember Facebook is just one piece of your marketing pie.

10. Have an objective, strategy and means of measurement.

Let’s say your initial objective is to get your first 1000 fans on your Fan Page. But even then, you should have an additional objective as to what you want those fans to DO. Perhaps you’re simply building community for now, so you want the fans to keep coming back and interacting. Or, maybe you want them to opt in to your email list to access a free gift. Strategies for adding fans could be broadcasting to your existing email list, writing blog posts, purchasing Facebook social ads, launching a campaign of tweets and more. And to measure, simple counting the number of fans is easy.

Dubbed “the Pied Piper of the Online World” by FastCompany.com, Mari Smith is an in-demand Social Media Keynote Speaker, Trainer, and Consultant. She has a strong background in the world of relationships and Internet technology, and has been a passionate leader in social media since 2007. Mari is also President and co-founder of the International Social Media Association – an organization dedicated to best practices, quality education, and social media certification programs. Connect with Mari at www.marismith.com

The following excerpt is by author and blogger, Andy Wibbels from the upcoming book, Success Secrets Of The Social Media Marketing Superstars (Entrepreneur Press July 2010).

Nobody Has Time to See How Awesome You Are

We’re all occupied living our ‘busy lifestyles’ created for us so we fit into nice little consumer groups. We pack our days working jobs we don’t like to buy things we don’t want; to impress people we don’t like.

From the time we get up to the time we hit the pillow, we are surrounded by thousands of carefully crafted corporate marketing messages. Waking life has become a relentless deluge of brands and slogans and logos, all trying to convince us that we are awful people if we don’t buy something.

Then we go online.

The white noise increases even more in the online realm. Pop-ups, auto-play videos, spam blogs, spam tweets, and spam profiles crowd the screen, vying for our attention. The fake and the faux, the concocted and calculated, the dried-up and the watered down… cold messages masquerading as warm caring quickly turn us off.

But sometimes, something or someone breaks through.

When we see something memorable – something hot with the heat of passion or provocation or simply something unplanned – we’re jogged out of the rat race. We sit up. We pay attention. We feel like real people again.

We’re relieved that there is a breathing flesh-and-blood person on the other end of this series of tubes we call the Internet. Things seem a bit calmer.

When someone clicks through to your website, you have a scant 50 milliseconds to make that impression. If you don’t immediately pipe up and say: Hi! I’m Me and I Help You Do A, B & C you’re doomed.  Someone else more interesting and more exciting is one click away.

You can’t just be loud and throw a bunch of pop-ups and expect success. You have to have a real personality.  Even more important you have to say This is why I’m different. You have to convey that in a matter of milliseconds whenever someone views your blog or profile or website.

To pop out of the crowd you have to be one-of-a-kind. You have to know exactly who you are, what you stand for and who you serve – and do it with creativity and excellence.

This style and enthusiasm that infuses everything you say and do is your creative edge and makes you unforgettable.

So how do you start to stand out? You get a little nutty or provocative. Case in point? My adventure with The Secret movie.

The Secret Skeptic

The Secret was a crock of shit and we all know it. Engrossing pacing and hypnotic rhythm, but still tripe. The Secret was a direct-to-video movie about the ‘law of attraction’ saying that all you have to do to live your dreams is think happy thoughts and clap for Tinkerbell to come back to life. Sure, the idea of attraction is valuable (I’ll point you to the late Thomas Leonard’s The 28 Laws of Attraction, which is much more practical), but in The Secret, nearly every example was about acquiring material goods and wealth. The video was initially released online and went viral, making a few people a ton of money.

I gave in and watched The Secret and found it pretty appalling and, like any good blogger, took to my blog to write a nice candid screed calling it out. Sure, visualize success, stay positive but they forgot the suffix: and then you get off your butt and start working. Because I’d written a blog post with the title ‘The Secret Movie’ I was ranked very high in Google for people searching for information about the movie. My blog post stayed out there for a few months and got lots of comments from people saying ‘Right on!’ or ‘Go to hell!’

Soon, The Secret popped up in DVD format and that’s when Oprah got involved. Oprah featured The Secret and several of its stars on her show in a couple episodes. All over the world, the DVD and a companion book were flying off the shelves. Thousands of people searched online for ‘the secret movie’ and came to my blog post, and read an honest contrary opinion.

I got featured on the radio as ‘The Secret Skeptic’ calling in to morning shows to give a little more context to the Law of Attraction and how it fits into an early 1900s religious movement.

My skepticism and counterpoint to a popular trend helped me build my newsletter, raised my blog’s profile and increase my business. All because I was honest, authentic, passionate, and provocative.

As you integrate social media tools into your business you must must must stand out from the crowd. And one great way to do it is to be provocative.

To fully participate in online activities you will be called upon to answer questions, join in conversations, respond to comments, upload videos, audios, photos and more.  And, you should expect to be judged on more than just the content of your communication. Others will evaluate you based on their entire experiences – and this includes every single touch-point you have with them.

This means that if your photos and videos look amateurish, your profiles are incomplete, and your writing is slipshod it will reflect poorly on you and decrease your ability to reach your goals.

If you want to stand out in today’s over-crowded social media landscape, you must pay close attention to seemingly small details.

Because so many online marketers ignore critical elements, many of us have lowered our expectations. “Sloppy” has become too common, not the exception but marketers who go the extra mile to ensure that their communication is error-free and well written (or spoken) shine like bright lights in dark rooms.

Think of your online communication as you would a job application.

Your target audience is your prospective employer and your written, spoken, and visual communication is your resume – one that demonstrates that you’re qualified for the position you’re seeking.

It’s not a mystery that people rarely get hired when they submit resumes that are difficult to read, long-winded, sketchy, and filled with typos, misinformation, and grammatical errors. Careless resumes scream, “Slipshod work!” and few employers willingly hire people who aren’t careful.

Therefore, as you maneuver through the social media environment, keep in mind the Guerrilla Marketing principle that every single contact you have with the public is part of the marketing process and details – no matter how seemingly small – are extremely significant.

What details might you be missing?

Mitch Meyerson
Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification

As you  surely know the downturn in the economy has made times more challenging for the entrepreneur.

However, any savvy marketer knows that developing powerful partnerships can be the key to surviving any economic storm.  So in this post lets look at how you can successfully connect with influential marketing partners in your industry.

Before choosing a JV partner make sure that you:

•  Know exactly what they want most from the venture… It may not be what you assume.

•  Are fully aware of your own goals… and that you’ve communicated them to your would-be partner.

•  Both feel that you can better achieve your objectives working with each other

The Platinum Rule

We’ve all heard of “The Golden Rule” – Treat people the way you would like to be treated.  And while the concept is sound, it becomes problematic because it assumes that everyone has identical desires and perceptions.

Authors Tony Alessandra and Michael J.O’Conner rephrased the tenet and renamed it “The Platinum Rule.” It goes like this, “Do unto others as they’d like done unto them.”  This requires a real understanding of others and what motivates them… and there’s no better way of learning that than by asking them. Otherwise, we risk offending others by incorrectly presupposing the answer based on our own sensibilities.

Following are some quick tips for developing healthy joint venture partnerships…

•  Do your research ahead of time… make sure they’re the type of person you like and their business is healthy and respectable.

•  Approach them with a “what’s-in-it-for-them” stance…  not how great you are.

•  Be specific…don’t leave things “squishy” regarding anything – this is how misunderstandings begin.

•  Respect their time… let them know you value theirs as much as your own.

•  Develop simple deals… especially ones which don’t require either of you  to “look over the others’ shoulders”.

•  Give before you get, particularly if you’re just starting out… people are understandably more leery of opening up their hard-earned business resources before you’ve proven yourself.

•  Avoid using a “sales pitch”… it’s no way to begin a give-and-take partnership.

•  Don’t obsess over who’s getting more out the deal… make your best deal and forget about it.

You will find that solid  partnerships can be the key to thriving in a challenging economy. Go out an find one today!

Mitch Meyerson, author of Mastering Online Marketing and Founder of Guerrilla Marketing Coaching

Become A Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach: www.GMarketingCoach.com

By Keith Ferrazzi, Author of Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your Back and Tahl Raz

(excerpted from Success Secrets of The Social Media Marketing Superstars, Entrepreneur Press July 2010)

In today’s virtual world, you don’t need a Twitter strategy or a Facebook strategy or even a Google strategy. You need a Relationship Strategy that leverages all aspects of social media.

Relationships: they are the ultimate source of advantage, the new heavyweight champion of the marketing ring. Social media, however, is the champ’s head trainer. There’s never been a better tool for relationship building. Social media allows for two-way conversations with an entire market, a reality that would have made the innovative Madison Avenue ad men in the 1950s fall off their Eames sofas.

But you shouldn’t try approaching social media without a deep understanding of the relationship-centric reality of Web 2.0 – the reality of the ever-increasing importance of foundational mindsets like generosity, transparency, and candor. If you rush or go in without information, what you’ll get is an all-too-common experience nicely captured by Google’s Analytics Evangelist, Avinash Kaushik:

Social media [can be] like teen sex. Everyone wants to do it. Nobody knows how. When it’s finally done, there is surprise it’s not better.”

Luckily, through knowledge, practice and commitment, social media can be exciting, engaging, pleasurable and successful for any business.

Smart innovators are learning that the model is no longer CRM (Customer Relationship Management) but rather CMR (Customer Managed Relationships).

The sales and marketing funnel isn’t linear and it’s not a funnel. It’s more like concentric circles of awareness, interaction, engagement, participation, conversation, affinity, awareness, community, and trust. A funnel would imply passive consumption, but that’s no longer how things work. Today’s consumer behavior has changed to active participation. I post a question to my Facebook page, asking what people think about the Kindle, then double check it against comments on Amazon, and follow those comments to someone’s Twitter account…and on and on.

A brand is no longer what the company says it is. It’s what their customers say it is. Companies still need to influence their brand, though. How do you do that? Not by interrupting your customers with brand-making promises, delivered as advertisements. You influence a brand by encouraging people associated with that brand – forging direct relationships, relationships built on action and experience and…CARING. That’s right, your next sales seminar is likely to be more Oprah than your traditional hard-charging Joe Salesguy.

To be meaningful, or memorable, these relationships must engage, enable, and empower. Memorable is an action, specifically a one-to-one action, and so really it is an interaction. Which brings us back to the beginning: Today’s consumer influence is built on a platform of one-to-one relationships.

For more excerpts from Success Secrets Of The Social Media Marketing Superstars by Mitch Meyerson sign up fro email updates in the top right corner of this blog.

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For a downloadable version of this list–> click here

1. Blog regularly and set up Ping.fm to distribute content to Facebook, Twitter and other sites

2. Create downloadable PDF’s with valuable content and active links back to your site (like the one above)

3. Use signature files on all emails with call to action

4. Approach online partners and retweet each other when appropriate

5. Post in discussion and newsgroups in your industry

6. Write articles and submit (google “article submission”)

7. Set up your own Twitter account and share valuable information

8. Give testimonials to others with your web address

9. Create offline ads with your web address

10. Optimize your site with SEO to get better search rankings

11. Set Up Your Facebook and LinkedIn pages and make connections

12. Host a teleclass and send students to your site for information

13. Create A Trackable Marketing and Traffic Calendar

14. Create a viral offering such a joke or flash movie with your website on You Tube

15. Put your domain on all marketing materials

16. Write a book and put your domain on the cover and inside

17. Be a guest on a radio show and send people to your site

18. Write an article for a magazine or blog with your web address in the resource box

19. Speak in public and give a useful handout link to site

20. Mention your web address every time you are talking business

In this 3 minute video I will explain the guiding principles that allowed me to become the featured expert on the Oprah Winfrey Show and how you can use them to create bigger results in your life.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more info on my books and programs visit:

www.MitchMeyerson.com

In this short video Mitch Meyerson, Founder of Guerrilla Marketing Coaching and author of Mastering Online Marketing explains three essential concepts for succeeding in today’s tough economic climate.

For More information visit www.MitchMeyerson.com

To Become a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach
visit www.masteringonlinemarketing.com