What is social marketing? You have heard the terms social networking, Web 2.0, and social marketing, but what are they and what is the difference? And what do these have to do with business? And even more important, how do they relate to me building relationships? Well, they are all related and they are fast becoming an integral part of business marketing plans. Let’s start with defining some terms and then explain why you would want to be involved with them. From there, we will identify the importance of incorporating some social marketing techniques into your relationship building strategy.

Let’s start with social networking. This is where you network with people in online environments. This includes MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and Ryze, but also includes many more networks including almost anywhere you publish your profile—the who, what, why, when and how of you and your business.

Web 2.0 and social marketing are about the same. They are they “conversational” component of the internet.

BEFORE: the internet has been used for research and development for many people. But it was one-sided. You presented information about your company, people read about it, and then they might use that information in their decision to purchase. But the internet has evolved as has the global society using it.

NOW: We are now able to (and even expected to) be interactive while doing our due-diligence on the net. If we see something we don’t like or don’t agree with, with tell other people about it. We even have the ability to make changes to things that we don’t agree with in some online environments like wiki’s. The really cool part of the social marketing is based on doing business with real people, not just big, cold corporations.

Social marketing includes the social networks we discussed earlier, but also is much more. It is based on great content, not selling. If people see you content and agree with it, you are the expert and they may look to you for information. There are many great platforms out there to display your content and knowledge like Squidoo Lens, Hub Pages and many different wiki’s.

So what does this have to do with my business? Well, the social networks are quickly being taken over by entrepreneurs and business people. Even though they were developed by the kids, for the kids, us adults have realized how these tools can be very effective in connecting with our target market and sending messages to our networks.

So why do you need to include this “social” stuff into your professional marketing plan? Well, there are many reasons, but I will list the 3 most important ones to consider as an entrepreneur building a business online.

1. Credibility. When your target market finds your content, tips and advice posted online, in writing, you are instantly the expert. When they continue to find your information over and over again, there is no doubt. Everyone wants to do business with the expert.
2. Search engine rankings. Because the search engines prefer fresh content and the social media sites offer fresh content throughout the day, they are getting much higher rankings than other information on the web. In fact, what used to take months and even years to get to the top of the search engines can now be accomplished in weeks with the right plan and information.
3. Go straight to the source. When you make connections through the social networks, you get right to the person you want to connect with. If you are looking to create a product or do a promotion, don’t you want to skip right through the gatekeepers? Even though many experts have VA’s managing parts of their social marketing programs, I have found that important messages are forwarded directly to the expert. I have even been amazed to instantly connect with the expert (without VA’s in the middle).

No matter what you decide to do, keep in mind your end results. People do business with people they KNOW, LIKE AND TRUST. That is what you are creating. The rest will flow when the relationship is strong!

For more information about joint venturing and creating profitable relationships, connect with MaryPat Kavanagh at http://www.QueenofMarketing.com. Make sure to include your comments on her blog at http://www.Queenofmarketing.com/blog. One of the most appropriate venues to learn more about successful relationships is to become friends on http://www.myspace.com/queenofmarketing