Social media is always changing or, as some would say, evolving. I am not I sure I approve of the latest changes to the social media landscape.

Sphere is my first target today. The content being ’sphun’ is often pure spam now and not very well disguised, if at all.

What has, in the past, been a good site for professionals to interact on has now become rather stale and spam ridden. I noticed one conversation complaining of the lack of new, fresh content and that life on Sphere had become ‘boring’. I notice the person making that statement didn’t have anything else that was fresh and interesting to bring to the table.

I should point out that like most social media sites, it is powered by the people, that means you and I, so if there is a lack of fresh content to digest, we are the ones to blame – not the site.

The other change in the social media landscape is the demise of del.icio.us and its rebirth in the form of delicious.com. It was probably on a matter of time before it took on a dot com role, however the trendy del.icio.us was distinctive and very brandable. I am not so sure of the new name.

They do have their reasons and many of them understandable. The old url will continue to work, however, you will need to login and refresh your cookie to continue to use them. Times are changing.

The last six months have seen many changes to the landscape of social media many with many others touted. Some changes haven’t and probably won’t come to fruition (Digg/Google). Many others will.

It’s a competitive world. Social media has come to a point in its development where there will be restructuring, rationalizations and overhauls. Hopefully, in the long run it will be to our benefit.

Part one I talked about how pitch can burn you so here is the next step in what you can do to lessen the pitch and use marketing more…. Do you know what the most highly missed opportunity that most Bloggers overlook in marketing their blogs? Email list building! Gathering e-mail addresses is still king and the MOST important feature in your site for three reasons.

1. First of all the purchase to visitor percentage rate on the internet is 1%, that means out of a 1000 visitors, only 1% will buy, meaning 10 sales per 1000 visits. That is a best case scenario with all the pieces in place.

2. Second the market average says most visitors will need 7 to 8 exposures to your marketing, before you can make a sale.

3. Third, what do you do to kick off that new product you just added to your website? Easy! Contact your e-mail opt-in list of thousands that you have built over time. This list already knows and trusts you. When you think soda, you think Coke or Pepsi. When you think fast food, you think MacDonald’s or Taco Bell. When you think jeans, you think Levi’s. When you think social marketing you think Social Marketing Journal. When you pass by McDonalds or Taco Bell you already know what they offer. You probably grew up in Levis. You KNOW them. That’s product identity! That’s image branding! Like it or not, you KNOW what you are going to get. Most of us can’t afford enough advertising to be everywhere, producing product recognition and personal identity. However if you can give your visitor a good reason, even during a surf visit, he/she will gladly turn over that e-mail address in return for your promise of information.

It works like this:
Free Social Marketing Training and newsletter by e-mail. Enter your address, and I will send you the download! By making a powerful offer, that is only available by e-mail, you not only gather the e-mail address, but leave a reminder of what you have TEN times more powerful than any bookmark / favorites listing can offer. As your readers get to know and trust you, because you are going to give them honest, usable content, you remind them of what you have to offer. If you are really positive you can’t write alluring e-mails like the big boys do, I’ve got that covered. All that you have to do is send out a broadcast email letting your subscribers know that you have a new blog post. Include a reason to click thru both in the headline and the email body. Also it is important to use keywords that pertain to your subject. In my newsletter the words Google and or Digg get more click thrus than anything else. But whatever you do, get those addresses now; later you can worry about the finer points. You must have a serious interest in the Internet and your site’s mission, or you wouldn’t be here. You obviously have enough passion about your site and its content to take the time to have read this far. Ask yourself this: “Just who is it you are trying to sell your product to.” If you are trying to “sell” anyone you have already LOST THE BATTLE. If you are trying to “sell” a product, you are putting the focus on you, your product and your profits. If you are putting the focus on yourself, you lose your leads interest. Realize these truths, and take them to heart. Let’s say you are selling a lawnmower. Joe Surfer doesn’t care about “YOUR” lawnmower; “HE” only cares about “HIS” lawn. His/her focus in on his lawn. Your prospect could care less about you. Don’t sell the drill bit, market the hole. Sally Surfer doesn’t care about your golf clubs. She only cares about HER golf game. Don’t sell the golf club; sell the 5 shots it will take off her 18 hole game. Your lead does not believe anything you say. Your lead will NOT, repeat NOT ask himself: “Is this guy honest?” He WILL, ask himself: “Is this guy a liar.”

How you conduct yourself will influence the buying decision.
• NOT THE PRICE
• MORE THAN YOUR PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE
• MORE THAN YOUR PRODUCTS FEATURES

More often than not, making the sale will depend on:
• WHO YOU ARE
• HOW YOU BEHAVE
• WHAT YOU SAY
• HOW AND WHEN YOU SAY IT

Ever watch King of the Hill? Wouldn’t you buy a lawnmower from Hank Hill? Hank knows lawns and he would not use anything but the best lawnmower. True it had better come with a cup holder, but shouldn’t they all? Would you buy a grill from Hank Hill? OF COURSE YOU WOULD! Hank knows propane and propane accessories. Don’t tell me how great your grill is. Tell me how great your grill makes my family’s cookout! Be Hank Hill and you will sell more of whatever it is, that I can guarantee you: without pitch (it’s hot, it burns you) and without selling (we all hate salesmen). Retain your subscriber’s trust and email address and if you do, you can sell him his next grill, and the next, and the next….

Humans are social creatures so when given an opportunity to socialize, we generally get involved. If you access social sites to undertake a social marketing program, you may find yourself getting involved in the social more than the marketing.

It can and does happen to us all. There are two strategies that you can put in place that may help your social marketing achieving its goal.

The first may surprise. Go with the flow. If you are a social person then be social. What you need to keep in mind at all times is your end goal. Watch what you say and who you say it too. Although you are being yourself while socializing, the old war adage that loose lips sink ships can be so deadly accurate when it comes to social media.

Being social and being yourself can often lead to more sales than going in with the hard sell. Your ‘trust’ factor will be that much higher as others will not see you as a social marketer.

The second option is harder to achieve and often doesn’t have the same results. Control is the name of the game. Control and focus. You need to focus on why you are socializing and what your goals are. You need to maintain strict control over what you are doing and not allow yourself the freedom to wander off in different directions. Your ‘trust’ factor may not be as high depending on how others perceive you. If you can display a real social nature whilst maintaining strict control then that perception may be as a friendly participant.

To say that your socializing is getting in the way of your social marketing can show a lack of understanding of the social media around at present. The focus is on being social with the marketing is a side benefit. Go forth and socialize – the social marketing will occur naturally.

Any site with a community environment, or one that uses media to interact socially, can be included in the term ’social media’. For many people, particularly website owners, their goal is to use these sites to create a buzz about themselves, their website or their products.

Is there anything wrong with that statement? No, a major portion of all users have the same aim, particularly the buzz about themselves component. Whilst frowned upon many site owners, these activities have become the accepted norm – within reason.

Creating a buzz is nothing new whether in marketing or in personal interaction. There are those that what to stand out from the crowd, be seen, be heard, be the center of attention. Likewise, there are those that want to stay in the background. They don’t want to lead and they certainly don’t want to be the center of attention.

The problem with the first group; over time their loudness becomes a nuisance. To retain their ‘center of attention’ status they start to pull crazy stunts, get louder and often more obnoxious. On social media sites, it doesn’t take long for the ‘buzz’ that has been created to turn into a ‘buzz off’ – and don’t come back attitude.

Social marketing and social bookmarking is exactly the same. You can stand up and be seen. You can become the center of attention. You can even create that ‘buzz’ that has everyone talking about you. Just don’t overstep the mark and turn that popular buzz into a buzz off.

I came across a new social search today which impressed me just a little. It needs to be investigated a little more but the concept; look and feel and the results were quite impressive.

The site, me.dium.com/search has a strange feel to it, probably because of the white and orange and not the traditional Google or Yahoo set up. The search results are also a little different. They are returned in three columns (you can change to two columns). However looks are one thing. Performance is another. It is slow but does return a lot of entries. On the down side, on some of the search terms I used, particularly entering domain names without the extensions, you get hundred or even thousands of results, most being sites that link in to that website rather than the website itself.

However, for a youngish site its overall performance wasn’t too bad – just don’t expect Google like results, in terms of look or results.

It is however a social search site more than, for example, a product search or information search site. me.dium.com itself is a cross between a search site and a social bookmarking site.

The main difference is that rather than bookmarking and referring to friends, you connect with friends and surf the net together sharing what you find along the way. It comes with it’s own toolbar.

I don’t know if I would use it although I can see its use when it comes to group projects. College kids may find a good use in that area. I certainly don’t need another tool bar cluttering up what is already cluttered.

It is an interesting concept and over time it may even win over a few people. However, in this crowded social environment, it may struggle to find a place. It is well worth checking out.