I’ve always taken a more cautious approach when it comes to implementing technology, like static web pages vs blogging software etc…

Social media is not really anything new, blogs, instant messengers, have been around for a while now. They allowed people to interact with each other long before twitter and facebook really took hold.

Twitter has turned into a literal cesspool if you’re a network marketer. All you have to do to get someone (I mean something) to follow you is mention, network marketing or MLM.

There is nothing social about it, no interaction just endless pitches. So when Google’s Buzz came along at first I was skeptical.

Yet, Buzz functions more like facebook in that it does allow interaction, isn’t that what social media is supposed to be about.

Twitter was touted as a micro-blog and some do use it this way. But, I think Buzz has it beat by a long shot. It’s kind of scary, it could actually be used almost as a blog.

In my opinion, which many will disagree with Twitters downfall will come from the automated tools it allows. No one wants to watch a twenty-four hour, seven day a week pitch channel.

Twitter is still useful, but you have to carefully screen everyone before following them. It’s not hard just look at their profile over the past few days…

…If you see repeated tweets, the same canned messages, well it’s up to you if you want to look at it.

If you are looking to interact with people in an electronic environment then Google Buzz maybe more of what your looking for.

And, as the the technology advance I’m sure there will be modules that will sync Buzz and blog comments together, that would truly make it a killer application.

Does this mean I’ll give up Twitter? Not at all! I still have people there I like to follow. And, every now and then something news worthy comes along.

I find it kind of ironic that individuals promoting and utilizing social media to advance their network marketing business have taken the social out of it.

If you look at the definition of social one aspect is: “relating to or designed for activities in which people meet each other for pleasure!”

In network marketing this could mean “hotel meetings, home parties etc…” Today most individuals believe this means Twitter, Facebook, Linked in etc…

While each of these new methods does bring a method to stay connected to people all around the globe, some of these have become antisocial.

If you’re involved on Twitter and network marketing you know what I mean. It’s like turning on a 24/7 shopping channel. There is very little social activity at all.

Web 2.0 and beyond was designed to bring interaction between the content creator and the visitor.

Twitter was touted as a micro-blog and some do use it in this fashion, while most network marketers use it simply as a broadcast tool.

They accomplish this by plugging into automated tools that auto-follow and auto-tweet for them. Taking the social part out of it.

Google got a lot of flack, when they first released Google Buzz, and rightfully so.

But, Google Buzz (my profile) in my opinion will do a much better job of putting the social back into web 2.0 than twitter ever will.

With Buzz you can pull in your various feeds from your sites as I have done, placing everything in one location.

Individuals are already commenting on how Google Buzz is replacing the RSS feed for blog sites. As the readers of the feed are opting for Buzz.

And, this really makes sense. Yet, in someways it dose seem self-defeating. With a RSS feed it is all one-sided, you read and then goto the blog post to comment, a benefit.

With Buzz, your followers can comment in the Buzz-O-Sphere without having to visit the site at all. Now, this could become a negative.

But, it does allow for more interaction, something that Twitter in my opinion sorely lacks. Especially when it comes to network marketing.

This doesn’t mean you should stop using Twitter, I won’t! But, sometimes you just have to turn off the 24/7 shopping channel.

Look for ways that really bring the social part back into social network marketing!

Social media opens up a whole new world of marketing and with it comes other challenges as well.

Most people try to keep their business separate from, friends and family members. Yet, many are gladly opening the door allowing access to them daily.

A couple of days ago I read a great post over on copyblogger.com titled, “Who Do You Trust For Online Business Advice?”

As I sat there and read the post my thoughts drifted towards facebook. Almost without fail on Twitter someone follows you, so doing the polite thing you follow them back…

…After all you really do not know where and how they found you, maybe they came from one of your tweets, or maybe from your blog.

A short time later you get a direct message asking you to connect with them on facebook…

…Now wait a minute.

If our facebook account contains are friends, family members and now other network marketers total strangers…

…Who just might fit the title of scorpions as portrayed in the article. Since we’ve added them as a friend guess what?

On facebook they’ll show up in the upper right under Suggestions and you’ll be the mutual friend!

The very same people who preach attraction marketing, will now be chasing your friends and family members. I guess that is one way to shorten your Christmas list!

It really comes down to if you’re in network marketing, want to play it safe. Keep your friends and family members insulated from the scorpions that permeate this industry.

Grab yourself two twitter and Facebook accounts, then you’ll never have to worry about getting an angry phone call…

Everyday I get a great laugh from new twitter followers. It starts like this my latests network marketing blog post goes out and here come all the new followers.

So I follow them back, only later to be sent a direct message like the following:

Thanks so much for the follow, I hope you have a great day! Visit my blog and let me know how I can help you:

Thanks for the follow! Please allow me to invite you to our free Network Marketing Training at xxxxxxxx

Thanks for the follow! Generate Instant Cash In Any Company. Learn How to Create Your Own Leads And Grow Your Sales.

Thanks for the follow, I’m looking forward to your tweets. I work with people who want to take their love of travel to the next level.

Hey fellow network marketer! My goal with tweeting is to help my followers succeed quickly and easily in their business. Let’s all get rich!

Thanks for the follow! Let’s network on Facebook too:

Hi. I hope we can connect for real. If you like Attraction Marketing pop over for your free goodies.

And this one takes the grand prize:

Smart Move on Following Me! See How I Easily Generate Thousands of F.ree Leads With Twitter.

Lets see did they hunt me down?

That answer would have to be a resounding yes, using automation or filtering to find and follow people who talk about network marketing.

Did any of them really take the time to investigate who you are or what you do before sending their canned direct message?

Most don’t you’re just another so-called lead to them. So if everyone is in the network marketing business and everyone is also a lead, isn’t that like a dog chasing its tail?

Anyway it really does make you laugh every morning.

Over the past couple of months I ran a test with Network Marketers who’ve followed my on Twitter.

I’ve not done what most of my competition (which seems to be everyone) which is chase people down. I.E. Build List.

You can easily tell that 98 percent of those who have followed you really have no real clue as to why they’ve followed you! It begs to ask the question are you reaching your target market or just casting a net?

I asked this question many times over the course of the two month period “What Is The Best Network Marketing Opportunity Today?”

That question generated a whopping 2 responses, as to what people felt was the best company…of course it was theirs.

For A medium designed to build communications…

…and relationships it definitely is not proving it to me, at least when it comes to network marketers!

It appears that the majority of individuals in network marketing are simply are not interested in building a relationship, just marketing! It really makes you wonder who is coaching them?

I’ve proven this over the years by leaving comments on other network marketers blogs. About 98% will leave the comment, yet remove the name and link to your site!

I like how the comparison is made with major companies using it to generate sales for their brand…

…and it works very well for them, no doubt!

Yet, thousands of individuals all pushing the same material “Generate Free Network Marketing Leads.” It really makes you wonder after getting so few responses to the question, who is actually building a network marketing business.

There is a disturbing trend emerging, and I fear it will not be too long, before the statement changes in the media from bugging your friends and family…

…to bugging people on social sites. It is already surfacing, with negative comments on blogs and media sites and it will only become more prevalent.

The real challenge is, “how much time and effort should you expend in determining, who you want to follow back?”

Should we be chasing people down, based on keywords, not content?

One of the qualifications anyone must have for any business is enough time to actually work the business. If your spending the majority of your time tweeting, is it really the most efficient use of your time?

Keep it balanced!

Awhile back a network marketer was sending out messages via twitter asking questions with apparently no response. Some of the questions where related to web software? Apparently, after awhile of getting no replies he became frustrated and asked the question “Is anybody listening?”

Truth is very few are, we would like to kid ourselves into thinking they are. With the technology we have today anyone can broadcast on the internet, with the thought that they are reaching their target market.

How often have you been frustrated when working network marketing leads when you discovered that other people where calling them? It is not uncommon with todays glut of information to request information from more than one source.

While you might have been competing anywhere from three to thirty other network marketers for the prospects attention, now you are competing with tens of thousands.

Are your broadcast message, your social marketing pages in reality just getting lost and mixed in with the rest of the clutter. I’ve read many great books on marketing, hopefully, you know what a niche market is?

In network marketing finding success, often means doing what others will not do. It means not following the crowd, becoming your own master, discovering those niches where your message and voice can be heard.

I’ve found it almost hilarious watching network marketers adapting Twitter to their opportunity pitches. Maybe two percent even comes close to using it for what it was designed for, building friendships, and communicating!

Repeating your message or series of messages about your business opportunity over the course of the day only furthers the reaction and credibility that anyone listening to you will perceive.

After awhile people just stop listening to you, so when you do have something worthwhile, you’ve already killed your audience. Then there is naivety in believing that other network marketers are interested in you business opportunity.

When you broadcast to others in the same field but different companies it’s almost like Ford trying to sell cars to GM employees. No doubt you’ve been taught to do this, stand at the internet mall and just keep shouting your message!

Again, you back to sending your message out to individuals that really could careless about your business. It’s almost funny in network marketing when you go to another marketers blog and comment. Unless your a member of their team your message never gets published or they remove your name and link to your site.

If you want anyone to listen to your message maybe it’s time you stopped following the crowds, find your niche and talk to people who actually want to hear from you! It’s almost funny today with nobody calling leads there is a void there that many will capitalize on!

The question is will you keep shouting into the void or take the necessary action, to build your business today?

Observing Twitter and what individuals are posting as resources what I’m finding is really a lot of junk. Most of it would never see the light of day, if someone had not posted it on Twitter. The majority of this deals with websites and blogging.

I learned a long time ago that you have to wade through a bunch of this crap to find anything of useful value. If there is one secret to search engine success it is developing the skills to know what is good material and what is a total waste of time.

Everyone should know by now that a website – blog needs content that is what people search for in the first place right? Many people post the same free SEO information again, trying to appear knowledgeable about the subject, yet they’ve never had a website in the top ten or even close to it.

With more people trying to build a business the cheapest way possible they will take any information that promises to do it. If you want to build a successful website, then you need to listen to those who’ve done it.

Yesterday, someone posted a tweet, that indicated this other persons success came primarily from his following on twitter. If you dug beneath the surface, this person was successful long before they came to twitter.

Now here is a thought, why would they tell you this is, then continue to spend five to six thousand a month on advertising on Google? Could they be doing this to reduce their competition, generate far more qualified prospects, decrease their cost per click while increasing their ROI.

So while you’re generating clicks and maybe one or two actual prospects per month they are generating hundreds. So do you like picking up the scraps, that could be all your generating. Out of 100 tweets on Twitter with most of the individuals in network marketing 80% of them are blatant ads.

The rest is a mixture of what am I doing now too providing references to useless posts that help no one at all. While there are literally millions of people on social sites, the bulk of them are not a prospect.

Before you provide a reference on a site, make sure it is actually good material. If you don’t know whether it is, then don’t post it! It’s that simple! Before you re-tweet something, actually check it out. Re-tweeting garbage is just like sending forwarding chain-mail letters.

1) There are no secrets. At least 98% of you might
want to know about marketing and business
success is out there on the Internet. Much of this
information is free. That’s the YIN.

2) But there is a YANG. The yang is, knowing
which of the free advice is good and which is bad,
and which applies to you right now, is a steep
challenge.

Case in point: Your email is flooded with perfectly
good advice from all kinds of people. Only 1% of
it applies to you RIGHT NOW. — Perry Marshall

If you really want good information, get away from the network marketing crowd, you’ll spend less time wading through crap! Not everyone in network marketing puts out junk, some actually provide great information.

Yesterday, a network marketer sent a message over twitter asking the question “how many people do you think are still using out dated methods in their network marketing business?” I thought about replying there but as you can see this post is far larger than 140 characters.

What is an outdated method? What is a new school method? Should we limit ourselves to one method or the other? Many individuals today are sucked into using cliche sound bites as they try to build their business without really knowing the differences between them or how similar they really are.

Why Old School Marketing Does Not Work!

Most equate outdated methods as old school network marketing, generating that list of family and friends. Then in all your excitement you pitch them your opportunity and puke information all over them.

It’s no wonder it doesn’t work! First, you where never taught how to do it properly! Rejection from friends and family hits you hard, could what you’re offering them appear as crap, a scam, or is it possibly your poorly executed approach? Often, the company you’re offering them is crap and will only appeal to another network marketer who is also sucked into the this hype.

Is it your approach, maybe it’s your inexperience, or maybe you simply don’t know how to qualify them, or present your opportunity properly. Learning what is a prospect, then learning how to qualify a prospect properly is essential to your success! Yet, most of the “trainers” today, never learned how to do this either.

If you’ve been in this business for any length of time no doubt you’ve been approached by the heavy hitters, generally in a tag team environment. They hit you with all the information about the pay plan etc… in a desperate attempt to get you to abandon your company and join them, they never stop to even qualify you!

Many in network marketing practice this style of old school marketing, a very destructive method. Interestingly these perceived leaders always seem to have a new company, a new deal on the sideline for you to follow them over to it.

Once they’ve moved most of the team over and all the sign-up bonuses have dried up, well you guessed it along comes a new company, the next deal, and the process repeats again with more money being sucked from your wallet.

Old school network marketing methods, teach you that everyone within 3 feet “The Three-Foot Rule” is a prospect. Maybe you’ve even been told to go to the mall and pass out flyers all day, everyone is your prospect right?

I’ve talked with people who quit their job immediately after signing up with a company, no kidding all because their up-line told them, do this and you’ll be instantly successful! Why is it people will buy this CRAP?

Along Comes New School Marketing Methods

Wow a catchy title, new school network marketing “Attraction Marketing” guaranteed to create instant success. Now prospects will be chasing you down, you’ll become the hunted instead of the hunter! So you rushed out and bought this new break through marketing course so you too could learn these new school marketing methods.

These new e-books are filled with heart touching stories about struggles and how they finally found success after years of struggling, getting trained, calling hundreds of people a day, nothing worked until – they started selling you this story!

Lets look at this progression, and you’ll begin to see how this ties back to old school marketing. First you’re taught you’ve got to be on the search engines running pay per click ads, offering a free report. You where taught that it takes massive action, a huge marketing budget to build that massive list! So you buy the book!

As people quickly started running out of money and failing, it is now transitioned into funded proposal system. Which works until one of two things happen, you run out of money and quit, or the search engines changed the rules once again.

After people ran out of their massive marketing budget, along comes the next course that will teach you how to market on a budget. Now their saying you’ve got to build a web site or a blog. This is coming from two of my former downline members and is something I stated a long time ago, yet they where convinced it could not be duplicated but it is something they now teach, I guess you could say I did not have an influence there?

When that does not work along comes the next e-book “hear the sucking sound from old school” you need to get on the social sites and promote your business. We’re now back to creating a list, or followers that are complete strangers you’ve found on the many different social networks.

You’ve now transitioned from the “Three-Foot Rule” to the “Three Micro-second Rule” where every prospect is only a click or tweet away. Interestingly, they’re offering essentially the same thing, to exactly the same marketing material, never differentiating themselves from the crowd. Imagine walking into a store to buy a shirt, you can have it in any style or color, just so long as it’s green and a short sleeve.

Those that do become successful, know the secret that you don’t. How to successfully combine old school with new school marketing methods. They know what is a prospect and more important how to qualify a prospect.

If you learn one thing here that I hope to convey, it is become your own master. After all, you started a network marketing business to be your own boss, you wanted to call the shots, start calling them!

No doubt people are taking to twitter like ducks to water. I’ve read many good articles both pro and con for using twitter in branding yourself. Still I remain skeptical that it will work for network marketers.

So If you’re here looking for tips on how to become a Twitter super star, you will not find it. What you will find is observations from those that are doing it wrong, and for the majority it’s not their fault they are being taught to do it that way.

One thing I would recommend if you are a network marketer is to grab your name if you still can. Even if you don’t plan to use it, it prevents someone else from using your name in a way that may not be flattering. Although if you don’t use it, you maybe violating Twitters rules for squatting.

I find it interesting to read all the different viewpoints in using social media both pro and con. It seems like those that are extremely pro use are frustrated that companies are slow to adapt it to their marketing. And I can see a companies point of view in taking a slow approach.

When it comes to network marketers it’s a new game altogether, many just see it as the newest way to spam other network marketers! Since they think every one they run across in network marketing is a candidate for their opportunity or product.

Or an e-book on how to generate free lead just like they are. Oh they are getting lots of click, but very little action since the majority are all doing the same thing. Wow what a concept ten’s of thousands all offering the same material. Twitter was never designed for this, the question you should be thinking about is what happens when they put a halt to this? Then what?

It’s too easy to just login find other network marketers and follow them all. Then once you have lots of followers, you just send Twitter spam every few hours, just like canned spam. If you have five twitter posts and are following 800+ people you’re a spammer plain and simple.

The majority of individuals that follow you, never even look at you, or your profile. When someone follows me, I do check them out before I follow them. I guess you could say I learned the hard way. Since the majority of them are just linking off to the same exact lame landing pages.

Now it’s not these newbie’s fault, they are being taught to do this. So how are they using this to brand themselves? Well in away they are branding themselves as spammers who’ve just moved from email spam to Twitter spammers.

Then there are the direct messages, canned messages, how lazy. It is amazing that someone will start following you, then after you look at them and follow them back later comes a canned direct message with of course, you guessed it a url to a frickin landing page.

Why not send me a link to your about your page on your blog or web site, don’t give me links to all your social sites? I’m not going to register or follow you on all those sites, heck I don’t even know you yet! Maybe if you want to brand yourself as a network marketing professional, you might need to stop listening to you current mentors and become your own master!

Can you use social sites for branding? Yes you can but no one and I do repeat no one is attracted to a landing page or a site that spends most of it’s time praising someone else. Unless of course your ultimate goal is to brand someone else.

Twitter is great for short forms of communication with people you know, still picking up the phone, talking to people is a better way of becoming a marketer!

Watching the proponents of Social Media Marketing as it relates to small and large businesses is showing a shift in the way they should be marketing. By bringing the human element back into it. I find it both interesting and humous at the same time.

Companies have always known that people prefer to buy from those that they know and trust, yet companies moved away from this! Now they are bringing it back as economic times demand it.

I would venture to say, if they where tracking it what they would find is third party endorsements actually drive more sales then Social Media does. Yet that could change as people gain confidence with the respective companies that are using this medium.

While network marketing – affiliate programs have always been a great way for companies to move products and services, the method the majority of marketers currently use boarders on the shady side. Hype still sells in this world, unfortunately!

How often have you read news reporters talk negative about it, when someone approaches them and “pitches their business opportunity.” Key word being pitched, most marketers just don’t understand what is, and what is not a prospect.

The majority of networkers are so focused on the recruiting side, that they often fail to look at the retail side of their business as well. Now I should be fair there are many who do focus on the retail side!

Often many of the products and services offered by network marketers are way overpriced, yet if the product or service is better then the competitions it maybe justify the higher price. Case in point is when you look at computers, why is it that one company does very well selling higher priced laptops and desktops and yet another loses money.

With todays, lack of trust between the consumer and companies building credibility will take time. This is what the proponents of Social Media Marketing appear to be conveying. Now this is nothing new Leaders Club has been teaching this since 1994, the process of connecting with your customers, downline, and recruiting bringing it back to the human level.

This is where the challenges lie in marketing to customers and potential business associates. Some individuals have placed themselves into the category of telemarketer buy using tools such as autodialers to contact people.

This of course takes the human element out of it, no doubt your telephone will be ringing just as they promised you it would. The only problem is it will be from pissed off individuals. Yet, you have a choice; you can put the social part back into it by simply dialing yourself and talking to people.

What if you do not have communication skills?

This is the one thing you can do to not only improve your life, but your business growth as well. For many it may take as little as a few months to several years. How often have you heard the statement those that have been in this industry for five to seven years reached a substantial income level?

Did you ever stop to think that maybe along the way they improved their communications skills, applied social marketing, knowing the right way to do it? The great part is you can do it without the hype and loathing that is a part of your business, you have the control, and direction, you just have to choose which direction you want to go.

So today we have companies moving to social media marketing aka “network marketing” as a way to build credibility and trust with their current customers and potential customers. Now that is a paradigm shift!

What are your thoughts on it?