When people say the word “media,” the first thing that often comes to mind is TV, radio and newspaper. This is the traditional form of mass communication, where one medium sends information to a large number of people. This form of mass communication only transmits information, with little to no interaction from those on the receiving end of the information. It is also an extremely expensive venture to get into and maintain, which is also why it costs a lot to advertise in any of these media of mass communication.

With the current Internet speeds and availability, though, these traditional media are slowly being replaced by social media - also known as social online places or consumer-generated media in the more commercial circles of society.

Social media itself is the epitome of the Internet culture: it is a collection of web-based and mobile technologies that allow users to generate and publish content. This simply means that people create, upload and share a whole lot of “stuff” on the Internet. Everything is fair game with social online places – from simple comments and amateur videos to technical manuals and sweeping scientific studies

For an example, you can simply search for social media on Wikipedia. Not only will you learn more about the term, but you will have visited a social online place site born from the collective input of experts around the world!

But you are not reading this guide to learn more about social media’s roots and origins. You are reading this to learn how to increase traffic to your own website. Ergo, you are reading this guide to increase your overall profits.

So, How is Social Media is Relevant to Marketing?

The whole point of this guide is to teach you how to increase web traffic to your business by using social online places, but it is absolutely essential that you first understand how to use the various social online places to that end.

Here are a few things to help keep you in the right frame of mind:

Information and Awareness

One of the first things you need to remember is the distribution of information.

If you are launching a program, starting a promotion, offering discounts, looking for employees, opening a new line of products or have anything important to say, then social marketing will be one of the quickest and cheapest ways for you to get that information out into the Internet. This is also a facet where social online places shines, since people can pass along this information on their own social networks.

Engagement and Discussion

One of the main draws of social marketing is giving the consumer the ability to easily communicate with both the business and other consumers.

A smart consumer of the Internet age no longer takes advertisements at face value. He goes online and starts from there, and social media allows you to communicate with these people on a near real-time basis.

You always have the option to filter or block discussions if they don’t go as you’d like them to. Just keep in mind that they can and will discuss an issue on a separate website that you will be unable to monitor. This is why it would be better that you see what frustrates your customers yourself and address the issue in a timely manner.

Support and Assistance

If people have problems, one of the first things they do is look for someone to help them – and social online places could be a cheap and accessible tool to let that happen.

It is cheap, easy and convenient tool for people to seek solutions to problems that they may encounter and answers to questions that are nagging them. This is especially useful for small businesses, where the need for expensive customer care services is virtually eliminated by using social online places instead. One or two people will be more than enough to handle things until the business grows big enough to need and afford larger customer care services.

Networking and Recruitment

If you are looking for people to help support your business – like partners, suppliers or employees – then social media can help you out there as well.

Not only will you be able to bring additional business to your website, but you could also use an established social network to get additional

Competitiveness and Relevance

If you can use it to get customers your way, then you can bet that your competitors can use it too.

This is why social media can be a very useful tool to spy on the competition. Are they launching a product with new features? What problems are their customers experiencing? How are they setting up their own social marketing strategies? Keep an eye on your competitors and you will be able to modify and present your own products and services in a more relevant and competitive manner.

Trust and Assurance

Everything that has been discussed earlier will ultimately lead to one thing – the trust of the consumer.

This is perhaps the main reason why social marketing is so effective in marketing circles. It is also the reason why other businesses just can’t see any traffic increase when they use social online places.

Remember that you are dealing with intelligent people that have something to say. Learning how to properly engage and communicate with them will mean the difference between a successful social marketing campaign and a total waste of time and energy.

Now that you have a general idea of how social buzz works as a marketing tool, it’s time we got down with the first social medium: Facebook.

For more information on Facebook and other social online places, like Twitter, Squidoo or social bookmarking go here…

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to Hawaii with family. While there, I got a lesson in stand up paddling, or what the locals call SUP.

The basics of stand up paddling aren’t hard. You kneel on the surfboard until you have your balance and then you plant your feet on the board and stand up.

Of course, you may feel a little wobbly as the water roils beneath you but if you’re in a pretty flat stretch of water you have a good shot at staying upright –for a few minutes at least.

Are You Letting “Irrational” Fears Keep You From Getting Started?

It wasn’t until I passed the pier that I panicked. I was suddenly overcome by an irrational fear that I was in really deep water. Irrational because I know how to swim, paddleboards float and I was close to shore. Yet, I was terrified. And then, when the teeniest wave came and the surfboard changed its balance, I fell off.

Imagine my surprise when I hit ground right away.

We were a couple hundred yards off shore but the water wasn’t even up to my waist. Of course, I didn’t know that when I let myself fall off the board and I braced myself for a deep submersion.

I hit the ground and my chest wasn’t even submerged though I was sitting on the ground. Ouch!

It’s Kind of Like Social Media

Some small business owners build social networking up into this big scary monster that’s going to lay them exposed and embarrassed like Tiger Woods circa 2010 but the reality is very different.

That is, if you have a plan in place and know what your goals are. If you don’t, take a step back and reconsider for a moment. What do you want your Facebook page to accomplish for your business?

Do you want it to bring in 10% new leads? Do you want to use it to connect with your prospects and engage them with useful and relevant information?

Do you want to build loyalty with coupons and special deals? What are your goals and how will you accomplish them?

Other Considerations

How much time do you have to devote to your social media marketing and who will maintain it? If you’d rather walk on hot coals than use social media to connect and engage with your prospects then maybe you should either choose not to do it or find someone to do it for you.

You’ll not only need to clearly outline your goals, but you’ll also need to create a plan for how to achieve them. What sort of content will your audience find useful? How will you build your audience?

Many of my clients find they need a hand getting started.

A few hours with a social media guide can set you on the right course so you don’t fall off in shallow water but rather keep paddling off into the sunset.