Promoting-- How to Spread the Word

Social media does not allow for much promoting; if you get caught, bloggers will ramp you with vicious comments protecting their "no-advertising" forums. As though, a "no-promotion-world" exists on the Internet. Being clever and sneaky is important in promotion, especially in regards to social media. I have gathered a list of ways to do just that, but be cautious, it could always backfire.

1) Pay bloggers to mention your product.
2) Develop different avatars for blogsites that talk about other related products with some mentioning of your own product mixed in (but not too much promotion to seem fishy).
3) Be real. Hire an employee to do the interaction, but say what company they work for upfront. This person will not promote, but rather interact.
4) Use online tools to gather fake accounts to make it seem like your fan page and/or twitter account has more followers and fans than actuality.

These were the suggestions given to me before I started my social media adventure. And for the past few weeks, I can give you better advice on what are the cons of each.

1) Paying bloggers means money spent on advertising that to many is defined as "fading." A blog post, tweet, and status update shifts down until it is completely gone from the main page after a newer post, tweet, or update takes its place. So you have to ask yourself is it really worth paying?

• An exception to this rule is a trade-off. If you find a blog that fits your product to a T, you may be able to offer something worthy to the blogger that will entice him or her to write about your product. Many bloggers, just like you, are looking for traffic. Therefore the typical trade-offs are a link on your website and/or writing you a blog that will post on your website with a link back to their blog. If you have an area for "related links," it is definitely ideal to reach out to others. The only downside is driving traffic to their website and away from yours. Then again, if you have something interesting to offer the reader, they will most likely not leave.

2) Creating avatars can be quite tricky. You will need to hire a great copywriter or many employees to take the task on. And just like with Tweeter and Facebook, blogs are just as hard to gain traffic. Also, recently, there are many laws that are trying to be passed to "out" online avatar bloggers. Many sites are dedicated to finding out the truth of who is writing behind this pseudonym. If it comes out that all these different bloggers belong to one person or one company, you will be getting a ton of backlash. People do not like being lied to. Be careful where you step in the social media world.

3) This is the method I decided to undertake as my social media strategy. The reason? I tried #2 and received a couple of backlash from online social media sites that did not like that approach. Quickly, I was told that I was spamming and overstepping my boundaries. The community reached out and halted my efforts. So instead, of being something I am not, I put up my photo, used my first name, and forewarned everyone I worked for a car financing company. Everything I write deals with a little bit of me, my company, and my experience. Since I have developed this approach, I have interacted with many individuals who have given me positive feedback for my knowledge; plus no more angry comments, but honest ones.

• The negative side of putting yourself out there is, of course, it stings that much harder when someone takes a hit at you. Plus, I'm a writer at heart, and my company obviously limits some of what I have to say. It can be quite challenging to be yourself, but mind the company regulations as well. My company has been very supportive of my efforts, but will yours be?

4) Social media experts advise to never measure your success by fans and/or followers. I recommend the same, so why does it matter to look like you have many? In retrospect, it does not. Everyone starts from somewhere, the key is to look like there is growth. How do you get growth? By being active in the social media communities. Take time to read, comment, and befriend others. Everyone in the social media world is trying to get traffic and comments. If you spend the time building up interactions, the growth will come steadily.

• Many people believe that there are many "fake" profiles out there, therefore just befriending them may not help as much as you hoped. The best advice is to reach out to them, make them read a comment from you that is genuine and human (no bots here). This will most likely lead to reciprocation.

Be respectful in the social media world, and you will find kindness from others. It may not be the type of promoting the company is used to, but it will get the job done.