The thing to remember is as you posted, people are unique. Being nice is not something that belongs to any “group”. It is within the person whether the CEO or the Mail Room Clerk.

I’m not a big fan of someone following you who when you follow back, send you a DM with a link to what they are selling! They make a smarmy comment make you regret your decision to follow them. Inevitably I get bored of them sending the same links over and over and with them not engaging with their followers, that I have to unfollow them.

Good luck!

I was referred here by Mr. Tim Berry’s post on twitter (He is the man behind http://www.bplans.com). I have been researching on the net for the last two months, trying to make sense of “SMO”. The reason for this research is that I work for a web development company and I am in the process of launching a new site. This site is a community site for book lovers and I wanted to reach out to as many passionate book lovers as possible.

My researching has only taught me one thing; There is no single method using wihch one could draw out a SMO strategy for a business or a site. All the sites, blogs, etc that I have seen (over a 100 by now) seem to say more or less the same thing. They only talk about the benefits of SMO, twitter and facebook. A few experts and consultants metion how successfull their clients have been due to their SMO efforts, (no mention of the clients name or their websites). Nobody offers concrete advice or actionable steps to build a strategy. Although, if one follows these experts on twitter, they seem to be tweeting all day, I wonder how they find the time to tweet all day about something or the other?

I have come to the conclusion, that I have to draw my own strategy and execute it myself and not depend on any consultant or expert. It is now also clear to me that SMO is only a small part of a large strategy that will help us promote the site.

Thanks a lot for the post, it is very helpful.

Warm Regards
Jayesh

I come across so many people who market their social media expertise, yet discovering their own social media footprint is a challenge. Finding those with a solid footprint and who use the tools to engage, rather than solely broadcast, is a greater challenge.

There are a number folks out there from whom I learn every day. They may not necessarily be the people with the largest number of followers or readers, but their insights and ability to challenge my current thinking are of great value.

I just attended a social media conference where, upon introducing myself to others, heard, “Nice to meet you. How many followers do you have?”

I particularly like the way you draw a distinction between ’social media experts’ and commentators with useful information.

Thanks for the feedback sir!

Yes, being nice to people would be the most comfortable way for many of us to get rich, but I have known some completely nasty b******s who have got mega-rich by walking all over people, treating them like dirt.

Some people say fatty food is bad for us. Actually, it depends on the fat, it depends on the age of the person eating it and it depends on the metabolism of the person. This equates to saying everyone should use Twitter or Facebook or Friendfeed or LinkedIn, or should go to BNI. It is rubbish because there is a matter of personal choice and of suitability for a business.

There, I feel better now.

It’s far easier to write about marketing, which has social media as just one of many, many components. Thanks for the comment.

I love the Google example. Their reputation is just starting to change, as more people question their motives.