If you have a business than you need to have a social networking profile, plain and simple. If you do not, go and get one immediately. Better yet, get two. Facebook and Twitter are the top two most used social networks in the world and are equally important as having an online website for your business.

Did you know that Facebook has more users all over the world than any other social network? it is true, and the most successful businesses know it. This does not mean that you are going to create a business page and magically you will get hundreds, thousands, or even millions of “likes” instantly and you are going to be able to sell and advertise your product/goods/services and make millions overnight. No, social networking is a time consuming, but beneficial process for the sake of your business.

Now before we begin, let me give you a quick idea of what you should and should not be using social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin to do. Believe it or not, your primary objective on a social networking site is NOT to sell your products. Seriously. People are not dumb, and they do not want to be spammed with a lot of products constantly. It is the quickest way to get your page ignored, unliked, and leave you with a handful of your closest friends who simply liked the page because they know you. Instead, you social networking page is meant to be a tool for you to go and talk with people, build professional relationships, and talk about current trends. This does not mean that you are going to create a page and talk about things that have absolutely nothing to do with your product or service. That wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense either.

So what should you talk about? Well that will depend on what you are doing, but to give you an example, I sell a book of inspirational quotes, the Facebook page, I actually post a few inspirational quotes a day and my followers like the daily quotes. They share it with their friends, and their friends will join the page. I never actually try and sell them the book. It is their for their convenience and to buy. I am currently in the process of rewriting the book and selling it through Kindle, the fastest growing digital book seller online. Not everyone is writing a book, and that is fine. If you own a cleaning business, you can post daily tips to clean your home or whatever specific niche you work in. As a personal trainer, I post fitness tips, workout ideas, and nutrition advice, and in turn, I get personal training clients who pay me to train them. Why? Because they view me as the professional. Does this mean that I never post about my services? No, I will periodically let them know I am available for specific services, but the purpose of the social network is to network, establish yourself as the professional in your field, and then build leads.

For those that are just getting started, I should point out that building followers on your social networking sites takes some time. It is a DAILY task to post and get people to see your business or service. The easiest way to start is by getting your friends to follow or like your page, however, do not expect a lot of sales conversions from this, however, it can get the ball rolling. Another, and probably a more beneficial option, is to communicate and interact with other pages. This does NOT mean go to a page and say “follow my page”, not unless you have already established yourself on that page and are relatively known. Instead, join in on conversations. Offer your professional opinion, and interact with others. This is the key to building a strong social network with quality leads that view you as knowledgeable and professional. YOU will be seen as the expert. This is crucial.

Next, you want to post daily and several times a day. Don’t post the same thing constantly, but rather fresh and new content. Many larger businesses have a whole department dedicated to social networking. Unfortunately, if you are anything like me, you do not have an entire staff to dedicate and pay to do your social networking for you. At least not yet anyways. I use a program called HootSuite that automatically posts updates on my pages for me. I spend about an hour updating my statuses for the next week. I schedule when they will post, what page they will post on, etc. Then I just let the program run and do its thing. I can focus my time on other things, like running the businesses, while my social networking pages continue to post fresh content and build more leads. This is an amazing time saver.

Shy away from offensive posts. Unless your business or service is dedicated to offering offensive materials, posting something that could be personal or offensive should be avoided as much as possible. This includes posting about politics and religion. Unless your page is about either of the two, they should remain separate from your business. You are entitled to your personal viewpoints, but some of your potential customers could be alienated and may simply remove themselves and costing you a potential customer simply because you posted your opinion about the President or even religion. Just avoid it.

Keep it professional. There will be people that simply…well…piss you off. Allowing them to get the best of you can seriously jeopardize how people perceive you, whether you are right or not. Keep your cool, keep it professional, and keep any personal and even business drama off your page.

All in all, Social Networking is a vital part of your business. It will not come easily and requires some work, but the rewards will be worth the effort. Just be sure to remember that your social profiles are meant to build relationships and leads. Sales will come with trust. Build their trust, become the expert, and you will sell.