Gary V's 5 Commandments of Social Networking

Many of you know I have just returned from an amazing business trip to Houston. A real game changer for me…in terms of learning all about the new emerging economy. It is a Revolution on many fronts. Here to help you understand these changes and thrive!

More coming on that in future articles and podcasts.  What I did while waiting in airports and planes was read the wonderful new book, CRUSH IT! by one of the greatest marketers in the world of social media-Gary Vaynerchuk. What a marvelous read! Pick it up immediately if you are hungry to learn about this new world!

Easy to read, simple to understand and only 160 pages.

Today's post is on simple and basic steps. Enjoy the read…buy the book, and and as always please leave your comments and join the conversation!

Elizabeth

1. Treat it like a cocktail party.

You have to get involved in different conversations. We don’t start selling the minute we meet people. It’s not a coupon outlet. It’s a real opportunity to connect with consumers.

2. Don’t draw lines in the sand.

Way too many business people say Twitter is stupid. Any product like Facebook is something you need to pay attention to in the business world. Some people don’t like to change. Instead, they feel they’re right, and say something is silly. Also, there are people who have vested interests in having these platforms fail because their understudies understand it so much better than they do. They are afraid they’ll be pushed out the door.

3. Humanize yourself or your brand.

It is OK to say, going to a soccer game. Or, having a hot dog. Humanization is quite powerful in this space. To be successful, this is the kind of thing you say 2% of the time.

4. Understand the authenticity.

Each consumer’s voice is dramatically more powerful today. This is word of mouth on steroids. The individual consumer has much more weight with corporate America. Most corporate brands will be wrapping their heads around the power of the individual consumer next year.

5. Interacting with potential clients and becoming part of the community is a real job.

You can’t spend ten minutes a day on this and think the social genie will save you. Most of all, you have to care. And you have to listen. That’s my overall arching thesis on this entire space. People think it’s about talking. What you say is irrelevant. The friend that listens is better than the friend who talks."

Gary Vaynerchuk’s new self-help book “Crush It!” is a national best-seller, with 95,000 copies in print after seven printings.

The book, which explains how to transform personal passion into a successful business using the free tools of the Internet, is No. 6 on the Wall Street Journal business best-seller list.

And yes, he practices what he preaches. Mr. Vaynerchuk has 851,000 followers on Twitter and 33,000 fans on Facebook.