Unlimited free leads from social media

There is a lot of talk these days about social media. Sites are popping up everywhere: MySpace is the granddaddy, but there’s also FaceBook, Twitter, Squidoo, YouTube and many others. These sites were designed around the idea that people could meet and interact on the Internet. But marketers have also discovered that they are an incredible source of endless leads for their business.

How can it be? Isn’t MySpace for my teenage daughter? And YouTube is full of funny and crazy animal videos, right? How does that influence my business?

All of these sites can influence your business in very important ways. Think of the “old school” networks you know. You join Kiwanis, the Rotary Club, Soroptimist and pass out your business cards and make friends. Clubs are designed to do good in the community, but are used very effectively to promote business among their members.

Social networking sites are similar. You sign up, set up a page and start inviting friends to chat. Then you expand and invite other people you don’t know yet: new friends. You find things you have in common and build relationships. You get to know yourself. As you build relationships, you will attract people who are just like you. They have similar interests or can relate to your “story.”

Once your new friends get to know, like, and trust you, they’ll be open to hearing about what you’re doing in your life. They learn a bit about your business and because they’ve come to respect you, they want to learn more and, bingo, they click your link and sign up.

Social media, when done right, is very respectful and not a hard sell. You attract people, you attract them based on who you honestly are. And because like attracts like, the people who will seek you out will be people you enjoy working with. It is an ingenious process and yet also very individual.

So tell your teenage daughter to move out. It’s your turn to get a MySpace account and start looking for friends.