In the last few days, I’ve seen totally conflicting advice from two Internet marketing experts on how to profit from the popularity of ’social marketing’.

Social marketing is about growing your business through user-driven websites like youtube, facebook and digg (plus hundreds more).

The first advice was to create 10 different user identities on about 20 different sites and then start promoting.

The second was to select one or two relevant sites carefully, building a personal profile on them and contributing value to the communities before even thinking about selling.

Both could succeed
The problem is that both approaches can work – and perhaps the first may even show the fastest results.

But, leaving aside that it risks getting you banned by the sites, it seems a bit like joining 10 different local networking groups like the Chamber of Commerce or BNI – and rushing round them all just handing out order forms rather than concentrating on building strong relationships in one or two.

And, as most social websites are not business-focused, it’s more like running around the golf club or the health club asking everyone to buy your products.

In his book the Psychology of Persuasion, Kevin Hogan’s “Law of Friends” states that someone is more likely to do what you ask if they believe you have their best interests in mind.

This arguably applies even more in the rapidly changing online environment. People find it harder to know who to trust so they are looking for someone who will help them rather than sell to them.

The great advantage of the development of online social marketing and networking is that it gives business owners access to a much wider pool of potential contacts than just relying on local organizations.

It’s clear that this type of networking and marketing will grow in importance but that most business owners have not yet started to take advantage of it.

Keys to Success
These are some of the keys to success with social marketing:

• Define your objectives: Decide what you want e.g. contacts or information.
• Be selective: Focus on your objectives, don’t get distracted.
• Manage your time: Set strict time limits on how long you spend doing this each day.
• Give before you expect to receive: Contribute to the communities.
• Be consistent: Visit your chosen sites regularly.

One of the best sources of information in this fast changing field is Jack Humphrey’s Authority Black Book. It’s comprehensive, useful and free – and has just this week been completely updated for 2008 – so it’s worth grabbing a copy today.

Social marketing is a fast developing field that’s still in its early days. Spending a little time to learn how it can help you build your business could be very rewarding.

P.S. If you’re more serious about social marketing, I also recommend checking out Jack Humphrey’s Social Power Linking, which I reviewed here a few days ago.