What is social media? What does it really mean? After a Google Search I found this from vocabulary.com “If you are social, you want like-minded people within your circle of influence. A social butterfly is social or friendly with everyone, flitting from person to person, the way a butterfly might. The word social comes from the Latin socius meaning “friend.” When you’re being social, you’re everyone’s friend.

In today’s world of on-line marketing, has the word social been tainted by advertising and business recruiting?

There are a few people who use social platforms for communicating with family and friends, however most business owners use social media for growing their prospecting list.

Per Hootsuite over 67% of the Social Media users now use these platforms for customer service. If you have a business and you aren’t part of the phenomenon you are leaving money on the table for your competitors.

Yesterday an on-line marketer asked for opinions about which is more important, Social Media or The List. And the same day a member posted this, “If you friend me just to try to recruit me into your business, then I will block you.”

People are becoming more aware of whom to accept as friends because Social Media is now more about business than friendship. However, MLM Marketing as well as Brick and Mortar requires building relationships to grow a successful business.

The money is not in Social Media or The List. The money is in the relationships and referrals generated from these platforms. It’s really all about brand awareness and customer service.

There have been a few times when I received poor customer service from a business and my only comment to the manager or business owner was; “do you have a Facebook page?”

On-Line Marketers need to understand that we are working with real people; and not just a face on a webpage. People have needs, wants, and feelings. And statistics show that they buy from an emotional not logical mind-set.

Building a customer base that is willing to bring referrals to your business is a necessary part of any marketing campaign to grow your bank account.

And to build a business with a healthy bank account, requires the sale of goods and services. Look at your pages; are they customer friendly?

Entrepreneur states “Facebook estimates that it is home to more than 30 million active small-business pages. How will yours get noticed? How do you turn one fan into 1,000?”

And how many of that 1,000 fans can you into buying customers?

Source by Patricia A Gaines