How to Avoid Being Called A Spammer On A Social Network

How to present your business...

That sounds silly doesn't it? Why would I have to learn how to present my business opportunity to others? I just sign up and start posting right?

It would seem on the surface to be that easy, but I see a lot of people have a real hard time...

Over time social networks create a very tight community. Everyone learns the rules and looks out for each other...

That's the first thing... Read the rules. Different social networks approach how you display links differently or even what you can talk about...

The other thing is don't come in gang busters!! Don't try to prove yourself and get to excited about showing everyone your knowledge etc....

Get to know the community first. Hang out for a while. Introduce yourself politely... Usually there is a separate area set aside for intros... And then start browsing.

Get to know the other members... Remember a lot of these people have known each other for a while. They may even be doing business behind the scenes...

Once you have a feel for it, start helping out.

Helping out... If you have any knowledge to contribute, provide it... Help people with things you know about.

Learn... Read... Learn... Read some more... Ask questions...

Then let it rip if you want to.

The bottom line is very few people can go crazy right off the bat... There is an exception here or there, but usually the community wants to see you contribute for a while before you get bold. They need to get to know you.

Definitely don't provide a sales pitch in your first posts... You will getting flaming posts and anger the community. Everyone will see it as spam.

It's just like building any relationship. Take it easy at first until you get to know each other.

Social networks are powerful things. Don't abuse that power. And don't ruin your reputation...

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Permalink Reply by Matt LaClear on September 27, 2008 at 10:27pm: Hi Diana,

Good questions. I think a spammer is anyone attempting to advance their own agenda with someone new they meet before getting to know them and their needs.

When someone leaves a banner ad that's just plain rude. That person obviously could care less about anything related to you other than your credit card number.

I suggest you go to your settings link and turn your privacy on. That way you have to approve comments before they are posted on your page.

Don't get me wrong I am not against posting comments on peoples pages. I have made some pretty decent coin from doing just that. But when I post a comment on someone's page I make sure to try to advance the agenda of 1) The person who's page I am commenting on, 2) The Sta.rtup.biz network administrator, 3) Then my own agenda.

I advance the agenda of the person I am posting on my giving them links to forum links they may find useful. In doing so I am getting good information in their hands they can use to advance their own agenda.

Advancing the agenda of the network administrator is very important too. By sharing helpful forum links to members I am driving extra traffic to the forums for him or her. Administrators love traffic hitting their forums because when someone does hit the forum they usually end up clicking on multiple posts. Which drives their pages views up plus gets feedback coming in for the people who post on the forums. Which encourages them to post more. But I think the main thing to advance the agenda of the administrator is to help motivate their membership base to become more proactive in the network

Lastly I advance my own agenda by further advancing the agenda of the person whose page I am posting on by offering them a free gift in which they have to opt-in to my list to receive.

When you operate a social networking campaign such as that your network will grow very quickly because everyone involved in the transaction will be benefiting from it.

If any one of the three are not benefiting from your posts then the whole thing collapses and you have to start over from scratch.

If the person whose page you post on does not benefit from your post then they will ignore you. The result -- you quitting discouraged.

If the administrator does not benefit they could ban you from the network and delete all your posts with a single click of a button! The result -- you quitting discouraged.

If you don't benefit from the post then you will not be doing it very long because you won't see any results from your efforts. The result -- you quitting discouraged.

Meeting people online is just like meeting them in person. So once you learn to interact with others online then you will then learn how to interact with them profitably offline as well.

I guess I could of summed up all this in just one sentence for the sake of brevity. Here it is:

"Feed the network and it will feed you in return."; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by diana cirigliano on September 28, 2008 at 4:35pm: Thanks Matt,
Again being new to the social networking that is information I did not know. Very helpful. I do have an other question for you. I read your profile page you said you have a wife and 6 children. How do you find the time to do the blogs, the discussion groups, give people insightful information and run a profitable business? I only have 4 children and I feel like I run out of time!!! lol
Again, thanks I just need to keep studying and learning!!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Matt LaClear on September 28, 2008 at 4:39pm: I am just VERY determined to give my family and others the best life I possibly can Diana. Having 6 kids keeps me plenty motivated to work all the time!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ms. Reverle Harris on September 27, 2008 at 11:16am: I'm so glad you reminded about spamming and gave this advice. Thanks!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Donna Amos on September 28, 2008 at 10:57am: Matt
I appreciate your comments. I believe each social site has its own personality and based on the welcomes I received when I joined this network it appeared that everyone placed a billboard on my page. Which to me indicated that is the personality of this network and I reciprocated. If I spoke out too soon I apologize.

Donna; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Karen Conley on September 29, 2008 at 9:47am: Matt, excellent discussion. So many times people arrive to these social sites thinking ''oh boy, now I have access to this entire network'' to send their SPAM out to the world. Where in fact it is a truly exceptional place to build relationships first - no matter what your business is.

I have a few other tips on my newest blog if anyone would like more ideas on how to use these social sites to their best advantage. http://www.sta.rtup.biz/profile/KarenConley

Well done and keep up the good work.

Karen
Skype Me@ cashqueenkc; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Torsten on September 29, 2008 at 11:27am: Hi Matt,
Good points here.
Absolutely agree, in networks, especially in social networks it is pivotel to create a relationship first, asked how you can help the other person first - without pointing to your business straight away - do it honestly. Only if I have the permission from the other person and you have exchanged some messages you may introduce your business - it is naturally but the long way. You can use the "promoting approach" in sales networks, where it is supposed to be that way, but not in social networks.
Use discussion groups instead (also in social networks) many of them agree to your sales pitch, as those are there to sell products/services.
I still am recruiting fresh leads by offline networking events, again not suitable if you need thousands in your list, to sell your e-book for instance, or online service - but it suits me for a certain branch of my bus :-)

Torsten
Leads 4 you; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by kelly4change on September 30, 2008 at 1:28pm: Thanks Matt. Good advice. It can be easy to make a pitch too soon. Nice post!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by James W on October 8, 2008 at 4:27pm: Matt,
This is very useful info. Thanks for sharing.

James W; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by melissa taekens on October 15, 2008 at 1:40am: Very well said! I am taking all your advice and sending it to all my friends!
Thank you!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Barb Sibbing ~ Add Me as a Friend! on October 15, 2008 at 8:17pm: Thanks for sharing your expertise on this area. I'm just getting into the social networking with my business so the more I can learn the better off I am.

I'm always open to new ideas and help in how I promote my business.

Barb Sibbing; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Matt LaClear on October 16, 2008 at 6:03pm: Congrats on getting into social networking Barb! Be patient as well as persistent and you should do great!; ▶ Reply to This