Social Media Marketing - The Top 10 Mistakes People Will Make in Social Media in 2009

Here we go again! Another year and another great possibility! With the election of Obama to the presidency, there's Hope and each is buying great future.

But I am sitting here thinking of all the folks in social Media that will be frustrated again inside their social Media marketing efforts. wondering why they are not having the traction or friends that they thought they should KKVSH. And the main reason is that they continue to really make the same mistakes in Social Media as last year.

Are YOU going to complete that- I sure hope not. You might not have the power of a Robert Scoble, or the personality of a Gary Vanyerchuck, or your head of a Chris Brogan, or the networking focus of a Mari Smith or Coach Deb Micek. Or even the amazing writing talent of a Scott Monty.

At the least not yet.

But you CAN accelerate your Social Media Success this year by avoiding these top 10 mistakes created by people in Social media in 2009.

Ok...what are they?

1) Insufficient Consistent Visibility.

You cannot produce a path and create a presence in Social Media, without CONSISTENTLY being SEEN and HEARD with your message. Ask Carrie Wilkerson. Or Timothy Carter. NOT going to happen. That's why that you MUST create a Presence on the internet DAILY- and be seen and heard as part of the community. A tree doesn't grow part time. It must be consistent in it's efforts. It's the same with your Social Media marketing.

2) Focusing a lot of on being heard.

LISTEN first- THEN talk. Social Media is about Listening to what will be said- by your prospects and customers- and social networking in general. You'd never enter a celebration or social event and immediately start yelling out everything you wished to talk about.

Neither should you in Social Media. LISTEN and then LEARN- and then Let your voice be heard- ONLY as a the main existing conversation. Your time for you to start the conversation will come.

3) Taking, instead of GIVING to the Social Media Community.

Ahhhhh- lots of takers out in the Web 2,0 world. But NOT YOU. GIVE first. Give Value. Give Suggestions. Give Advice. Give ideas. Give Encouragement. Give News. Give New Possibilities. Give Words of Gratitude. But do NOT take relentlessly. You will undoubtedly be shunned and defined as such.

If you REALLY want to create powerful influence- GIVE. How does that work?

GIVE = Gain Influence Very Easily. Give FIRST - and you'll never come in Second.

4) Not Joining groups.

Groups are where you can have a few of the greatest growth and learning. I participate in a lot of groups. Why? Because of 2 reasons: 1) I learn a whole lot from other people. 2) I CONNECT with individuals in the group.

Groups are a "secret weapon" that you need to use on as much social sites as you can. They'll not only Enlarge you- but additionally the options that the group can bring to your life.

5) Not attending Events.

Events ROCK. And you ought to be attending at the very least 1 event weekly to complete 2 things: 1) Be Visible. 2) To learn from individuals who know things you do not.

Events are what i call the "Hidden University" of social Media. You can learn a LOT and grow a whole lot from events.

Consider the events that interest you. And pick on event that mildly interests you. And see if you're able to learn something even from that event. I've an event journal. and every event that i attend- i keep a log of that which was said so i could review it later. You might want to complete the same.

6) Insufficient VALUE in what they are doing.

Value RULES in Social Media. And we train on what we call "Surprising Value." This really is the type of Value that's so excellent and unexpected that it surprises the individual that discovers it. Put More Value in your POSTS. Put more Value in your PODCASTS. Put more Value in your Conversations. Put more Value in your Articles. Put More Value in your Recommendations. Put More Value in YOU and everything you bring to the Social Media table.

Value RULES. And usually the one with the MOST value at the end of the day- reigns.

7) Joining Too Many Social Media sites.

You can find about 3,600 Social Media sites. You will need maybe 5-7. You read that right. You will need 5-7 PRIMARY Social Sites. You then need maybe 25-30, or even 50 Secondary sites for Link Building and traffic purposes. The main sites that you ought to be part of- is around you. My 'Big 73 are Facebook, Twitter, youTube, LinkedIn, Stumbleupon, Plaxo, and WordPress - alongside mashable. They are the CORE of my Social Media Marketing.

Do I participate in more? Heavens yes- a LOT more' but have automated those through ping.fm and other social software.

Do NOT try and be seen on a hundred sites. Facebook alone can keep you busy with over 200 million people. Exactly the same with MySpace, or Friendster. Master ONE site while mastering social networking and then another, and then another, and soon you have YOUR "Big 7." And then automate the rest.

8) Focusing a lot of on Monetizing Social Media.

Nothing wrong with monetization on the internet. We get it done a LOT- and daily. But focusing a lot of on that in social media- is , well...not cool. People do not mind knowing about a supply, or new info product. But how about giving some VALUE first with it- then invite them to an event- and then at the end of the conference call or webinar-give them to be able to purchase your product.

What do I see daily? URLs and messages SELLING SELLING SELLING! Whew- wish that will not happen so blatantly. It has gotten better, but when you have a great content rich info product- listed here is a novel idea: GIVE the main info away FIRST and let the individual ASK you for the merchandise when they like it.

Hmmm....that just might be a concept worth considering.

9) Convinced that You're Nobody and Social Media Success is for other people.

Ask Chris Brogan. Ask Scott Monty. Ask Alejandro Reyes. Ask Brian Solis. Ask Dave Taylor. Ask Shama Hyder. EVRYONE has a great possibility to becoming SOMEBODY in Social Media. THAT is the beauty of the culture. Everyone who contributes Value and Connection- is more than welcome to achieve whatever they want. Chris Brogan once had 10 readers of his blog. Now he has almost 40,000 people following him on twitter alone. Brian Clark of copyblogger fame once had 10 readers. So did Scoble. So did Monty. So did Shama. And the list is endless.

There is GREATNESS inside you-and there's NO BETTER place than Social Media to unleash it upon the world. You ARE Somebody- and always have been. YOU are a Social Media Rockstar- in training!

10) Not Branding Yourself Strong Enough.

Branding is really a tool that people all use in Social Media. It's WHO YOU ARE- and what folks remember about you. It is actually a phrase-"Just Do It (TM)"- or perhaps a slogan- ""We've Got You Covered." Or perhaps a questions- "Can You Hear me Now?" or perhaps a Name-"Trump."

You want to get a slogan or phrase that you can start wrapping in your messages. You want to get an image that speaks what you want people to see and know. And you'll need to decide -what is the ONE THING I would like people to think about FIRST- when they believe of me and my company? THAT is the start of an excellent brand build. Don't be yet another face in the net 2.0 world. Set yourself apart and above the fray with a brandname that rocks. We teach what is called "Connection Branding" and we've saying:

"Do NOT you need to be known or remembered- become UNFORGETTABLE." "

THAT is the thing you need to complete!

They are the utmost effective 10 mistakes people will make in Social Media in 2009. Yes, i Know you can find others- but these are the ones that i see as the most prevalent in Social Media marketing.