Photo courtesy of Flickr user Sheila Scarborough

So, let’s go back to the initial question, “What social media sites should I be on?” The answer is: You should be on the sites that get you the best results from the content you are promoting. What sites are driving the most traffic to your website?

Although I have received great value from Facebook, my most effective social media site today is LinkedIn. As an expert, it drives the bulk of the social media traffic to my websites and my events. It is a virtual powerhouse of strong lead generation, largely due to postings in targeted LinkedIn groups. The reason it’s such a great social media site for targeting is that it is largely a professional audience. LinkedIn groups generate fast leads and warm prospects to my specific target market. I use it to promote to groups that have business owners who can directly benefit from my expertise.

I’ve converted a countless number of “cool” leads to “hot” buyers, generating thousands of dollars in return by making connections within these groups. Connections that you make on social media allow you to continually grow your database with new prospects and more buyers. This can also be done using Facebook ads. So consider what social media search engine sites will be best for your business and your promotions.

One of the most misunderstood social media networks is Twitter. It forces users to condense their message into a short 140 characters and the result is a massive amount of information to work through. You may be a bit of a skeptic when it comes to how Twitter will help you grow your business, but it’s working for many experts. It is useful as long as what you are posting is driving traffic back to your website to generate leads.

Always keep in mind that the goal of social media is to convert visitors into leads. If your social media is NOT converting viewers, you probably have the same problems as everyone else who is not making money online. Either you aren’t posting great content or your website isn’t converting due to poor marketing copy. Another reason you may not be converting visitors into leads could be that you are either marketing to the wrong niche market or targeting too general of an audience.

The truth is that your presence on social media will work when you post great content to the right market that leads to effective website copy. You can’t skip a step and expect it to work effectively; it just doesn’t happen that way. There are no short cuts. All of your online marketing and branding must be on target and focused to create feedback and action. For example, if all you did was post inspiring quotes or pretty photos, you might build a following, but you won’t get qualified leads. Without warm leads, you can’t measure your impact in a way that is meaningful to your social media objectives.

Don’t get caught up in the hype

Don’t worry about whether you are on ALL the social media platforms. Get your business signed up for some of the most important social media search engines such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+. Use the same business name on all of the sites if possible. Keep your branding consistent on all of them to promote your expertise effectively. Also keep in mind that social media is all about sharing: You need to give people something “share-worthy” in order to make your social media marketing strategy work for you.