Most of us don’t think twice about what is involved in maintaining the platforms the Social Networking and Social Bookmarking potpourri of sites that we use each day in our online businesses.  These days, the focus is mostly on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.  Other useful sites are LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Flickr, MySpace, and Last.fm … to name a few.  Then there are he multiple free email accounts we have. 

When it comes to our home computing environments, we unconsciously manage disk space every day.  If we have self-hosted blogs, we look for and choose hosting vendors who permit us to have unlimited storage for our websites.  Yet, we take the storage of our Tweets and posts for granted. 

Every piece of content must be stored somewhere.  In the early days of email, I was part of a group who studied email etiquette with interest.  We discussed computing capacity issues, like storage, too.  A friend of mine, who worked for EMC, wrote a fascinating white paper about the exponential growth of data storage.  Her predictions have been exceeded by mounds and mounds and mounds of data.  None of us foresaw the advent of micro-blogging in 1985, let alone text messaging on a cell phone!   

Recent research by IDC revealed that our digital universe grew by 62% during the last year alone.  The stunning amount of storage online at the time of the study was 800,000 petabytes, a measure better described at this link.  In short, it is one million gigabytes.  By the end of 2010, it is predicted that there will be 1.2 zettabytes online.  A zettabyte, incidentally, is roughly half a million times the entire collections of all the academic libraries in the United States.  Whew!  And I’m worrying about a few gigabytes around here.   

Computers and the internet have made our lives easier, much more public and availed methods to get income online for some of us too.  Pages upon pages of material sifted and listed, categorized and presented for our reading pleasure with a few keystrokes and a button click.  Since our content is cached and stored online indefinitely, one begins to wonder if our content will outlive our grandchildren.  Who can say?

I didn’t create the page that I’m writing about today but I’ve been wanting to do someting similar for more than two years!  Because my site is G-Rated, I can’t put a link to it but if you don’t mind a little free expression, colorful language, and want a good laugh, I encourage you to search for the site using the title of this post to find it.    

Increase your Twitter followers by eleventy-billion in seconds uses all the tactics that experienced internet marketers have ever used, so far as I am aware.  There is an animated roll down script on the corner of the page, a bodacious lead in claim, multiple rave reviews, and a purchase option.  It even employs a tactic that I’ve noticed rising in trends and don’t much like.  There is no price given on the landing page.  But they admit they aren’t selling anything, which is part of the fun. 

From an educational point of view, this is a great example of what NOT to do on your sales pages.  From a social media perspective, it touches upon another source of my dismay, which is the automation of friend finding on social networks.  I mean, if you have to automate relationships, what is the point to them? 

Oh yeah … selling something!   

Recently, Michael Fortin had a much more politically correct post on the same idea.  Even a respected professional who has gained from product launch tactics sounds nauseated by them. 

The internet product launch formula needs a tune-up, I believe.  Maybe more internet marketers could try more honesty with a smidge of reality next time around.  Why not leave out the “hot spices” from the recipe so everyone can digest the cuisine without getting heartburn? 

I dislike citing problems without imagining possible solutions.  While I can’t say that I’ve been party to a huge product launch … yet … I certainly hope to see a trending upwards of these things. 

Forget the Bonuses 

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine that the worth of the bonuses is overstated if they are willing to give them away or sell them at 1/1000 of their supposed value.  A brief time spent on the internet will tell you that these products are approaching obsolescence.  Very few internet marketers have been up-front about the fact that they are clearing old product. 

Stand Behind Your Product 

This week, I listened to a webinar hosted by Frank Kern, who is working with Brendon Bouchard on a program called the Experts Academy.  While I decided against opting into their membership, I found their offer to refund all purchases, regardless of how far in the future the request was made, quite fascinating. 

This demonstrates two important things.

1. They truly believe in their product
2. They are genuinely concerned about customer satisfaction

Guarantees like that are the exception among internet marketers.  Clickbank products abide by the 56-day refund rule.  Sellers of software, that was misrepresented or has proven to be buggy or not working at all, have refused my requests for refunds less that 30-days after my purchase.  Although it is irritating, it isn’t worth the dispute and negativity it would create in my life to pursue it any further. 

Even with my desire to see product promoters offer extended refund policies, I do understand that the buyer of anything can’t just change their mind and claim something didn’t work for them.  If they’ve never tried the product, there is no flaw and no basis for requesting a refund.  If there is accountability coupled with lifetime guarantees, then it is fair for all parties involved. 

Don’t Promote … Campaign 

Something that Brendon Bouchard said during the webinar really made sense.  Even though the idea of a new product is exciting to the developers and they want as many sales possible in the least amount of time, the persistent promotion emails are tedious. 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  People don’t like being sold.  They prefer to use their best judgment and make a decision on their own.  Promotions are like putting the giant inflatable gorilla on the roof of a building.  They attract attention but they look silly. 

Build interest through a series of explanations about what the product overcomes or improves.  Leave out the links in the notes once in a while.  Request email inquiries and avail a mailbox that will be read and responded to.  People like to ask questions and to get answers. 

Real Testimonials Only,  Please… 

The FCC has endeavored to clamp down on false testimonials and paid reviews in the USA but who knows how that ruling is policed?  Do they prey on known offenders or randomly pick them out?  Either way, this ruling has as much “beef” in it as the anti-spam laws, based on the bulk email that I receive every day. 

When I see a plethora of testimonials on a page with no dates or full names, I cannot help but wonder about the vintage and credibility of the testimonial.  Since I am fully aware that many internet marketers give away copies of their products to their inner circle for trials before they are made available to the public at large, I feel that full disclosure would clear up any confusion.  Therefore, segregating raves given by people who got a trial version at no cost seems like a good idea.  It also would be wonderful if that round of reviews were updated within 3 – 6 months of the product launch. 

Say Thank You! 

Would it be too much to ask that the product owner take a little personal time to write a thank you email?  We are human beings, doing business with human beings, and someone has believed that our product was worth spending some money on.  Courtesy should not be automated. 

While we’re at it, is it to much to ask that follow up emails inquire as to how we are doing rather than continuing to promote more products for sale?

My friend, Zeb Olsen is a Twitter Wizard. He has helped me tremendously, over time, and I am sure you can benefit from learning more from him as well. I am sharing a video he produced recently that describes tactics and tools you can use immediately to get a handle on different ways to use Twitter in your business.

Those in business are well aware of the power of having a website. More recently, the utilization of social networking sites for business promotion and lead acquisition is gaining popularity. Because social networking takes time, companies that are serious about their business success have decided to hire paid staff whose sole responsibilities are to connect with prospects and customers to drive traffic to company websites using social networking techniques.

While considering this idea, I took some time to conduct a little statistical analysis using Google’s nifty search trend analysis tool. This link provides research about search trends for 5 well-known and reputable social networks: MySpace, Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and YouTube. I must admit, the YouTube results surprised me. But, other than that, this data informs me that the trend of employing social networking, for any reason, is a critical strategy for businesses whose future growth and revenue relies upon connecting with potential customers or consumers living in the United States.

If you are a solopreneur or small business owner, you may not have the capacity to outsource or employ full-time staff for social networking so that duty will fall to you. The time that you spend on social networking is not frivolous time. Prospecting is an important part of establishing your new business and helping it continue to thrive.

There are many ways to attract your market using social networking. All networks provide personal blogging features. Duplicating content is not advised, although it is inconvenient to have to create multiple blog posts for every social network to which you belong. Since we all must prioritize how our valuable time is spent, a far superior solution is to use RSS outbound feeds to publish blog posts to all your social networking profiles. Since it is a feed, it is not considered to be duplication of content.

Most networks offer groups, forums or both. Groups and forums allow you to interact with the online community and begin to establish relationships. Including a link to your blog is a great way to assist your blog’s Page Rank through linkbacks and does not inhibit the confidence of members who appreciate what you have written. As an example, imagine that your business is home remodeling. Joining or starting a group about home repair is a great way to demonstrate your expertise, in a helpful way, and attract new business.

Social networking is often abused by people who do not understand how to effectively build online relationships. The keyword is relationship. Remember to be courteous, to write professionally and, perhaps most importantly, to establish a common ground for communicating with an individual or group before you begin to promote anything.

All too often, I see marketers make the social faux pas of leading with an offer. Even worse than that, in my opinion, is submitting a comment or wall post that includes a banner or link to their business. If a single-minded marketer, whose sole interest is making money, begins to bombard a group, forum or me with endless links to business opportunities or affiliate promotions, I tend to lose interest in them and what they have to say. I know that I am not alone.

For marketers who are conscious of the fact that there is more at stake than making money, social networking provides a method of establishing credibility, loyalty and referral business. The latter is THE most important aspect of any business endeavor. People who come to you on the basis of their friend’s recommendation already believe you can deliver the product or service they seek in a professional and cost-effective way.

Social networking is no longer an arena just for the kids. Business people who do not grasp the importance of utilizing these sites effectively will fall behind the curve as this trend continues to rise in popularity. Facebook has embraced their place by enhancing their Fan Page feature so that it is a better way to promote one’s business. Well known companies like Microsoft, IBM, Wells Fargo, State Farm and Prudential all have well-attended and active Facebook Fan Pages.

The power of your future business relies upon ready access to existing and potential customers who are interested in your product or service and who also want to remain informed. When they opt-in to your Facebook Group or Fan Page, you have gained permission to market to them and, if you do not abuse this privilege, your business can grow and you will prosper.