If you have a website floating out there with little natural traffic and you’ve been wondering about investing time and resources into a social media marketing campaign then this is my take on the various social networking sites and why you should throw your hat into one or two rings.

It’s important to recognize from the outset that with so many social networking sites to choose from it’s easy to get a little confused at the party. So avoid, the games, gadgets and gathering of fools and you might just start to see the light of day in the social media landscape.

It’s essential to plan ahead to avoid failure in any marketing campaign but social media with all its‘ attractions and distractions makes this task even harder. So, here’s what you need to do;

First, decide who you are and who you want to be in the social media sphere. Branding is the key to unlock the door to any good marketing campaign and if you get this step right you can attract the right type of prospects and leads to your profile page whichever social networking site you join. Get this wrong and you will struggle to see the light of day with all those group invites, free gifts and invitations to play that will land in your inbox or on your profile page.

With so many social networking sites to choose from it would be easy to spread yourself too thin or to join the wrong site just to get the social media train moving, but this would be a big mistake. Take a good look at what’s out there and find out where your customers will be when you start to enter the room. If you don’t know where to look start with Google and you should find the answer.

Okay, so now you’re ready to go you need to take a few more moments to listen to what’s happening out there. Don’t rush into your new social networking site like a mad man (or woman) screaming and shouting about your business, product or opportunity or you will quickly find that the community isolates you. Social networking sites are just that; social.

This is where the fun begins. Add value to the social media party. Entertain, educate and interract in a way that you would be happy with and the social community you’re speaking to will accept your networking efforts and listen to what you have to say.