Topic Talk—Michelle Kostya Recaps Mom It Forward’s #GNO

MomItForward's #GNO with @jessicaknows from Jessicaknows.com was a brilliant discussion on how Social Networking can help you promote your blog or web based business. If you missed Tuesday's #GNO, or had trouble following it with the hundreds of Tweets (as I did) – not to worry I created a little #GNO compilation for you of @jessicaknows tips. For your reading pleasure (!) I also added by own two cents. This is a slightly abbreviated version, with a focus on Social Networks to “social network”!

To set the stage: Social Media (which would include Social Networks) is all about helping others – through sharing, collaborating or connecting with like-minded individuals. We have always networked off-line - cultivating contacts for business or social endeavours, but with new online communities we can network in new ways to learn, share and find new opportunities. The same rules apply online as in the “real” world as @jessicaknows says "I establish relationships by learning about other ppl's goals & what they're all about & then introduce to each other". This includes helping to promote blogs she believe in the most through her sites, and sharing content on Social Networks. She takes this to heart in business: "it's so easy...the key word is SOCIAL...use the "have a friend, be a friend" mantra in business and you can't go wrong".

So how can Social Networks help you network:

• Attract PR people to your site

• Drive traffic and encourage engagement and community

Attracting PR Peeps for your Blog

@jessicaknows: There is no magic number regarding traffic to attracting PR. While she noticed she received a lot of attention once she had about 20,000 monthly visitors, it is more important to write about your passion – and the PR folks will follow. She uses LinkedIn to connect with PR folks and other mom owned business she can partner and work with in the future.

My two cents: She is absolutely correct, while the PR people will look for an engaged community the numbers may not matter as much if you are passionate and are considered an "influencer". An influencer will tend to spread "word of mouth" throughout a variety of networks online and off-line -giving a lot of added value to the campaign - beyond the blog post.

Drive Traffic and Encourage Engagement

@jessicaknows suggests that you pick 3 social media tools & be consistent use them everyday. She uses three social networks: Twitter (obviously), Facebook and LinkedIn. She also uses StumbleUpon for bookmarking regularly.

Michelle's two cents: Social Networks like these are fantastic for promoting your blog or website. But, keep it “robot” free when possible and reciprocate!

• I post all blog posts to Twitter and Facebook. I try to avoid using the robot when I have the time by personally summarizing the newest post in my status/tweet.

• On Facebook you can share your latest post by using “Share on Facebook” button on your browser, or manually in your profile.

• Twitter is also a great place to promote DIY or How-To Posts to people who are looking for specific help. For example: I have a beginner post on SEO, so if I have notice a tweet from someone looking for help on SEO – I could send them a note with the URL.

• If you are a professional in a particular area – consider following keywords in Twitter Search or use Tweetdeck search. This will help you find people with similar interests and possibly locate individuals your posts or website can help.

• I use Tweetburner to track click-through, which can give me an idea of how successful the tweet or Facebook status or link was.

• Remember Twitter is “social” first. Your tweets cannot and should not be all about yourself. If you find a great site, article or post on the WWW share it with your followers, have a deep thought – tweet it, or see a great tweet by one of your tweeple – re-tweet it! (do this by RT and then the tweet; or you can automatically do it from Tweetburner)

For the full MomItForward's #GNO Summary from Tuesday, or more Social Media (and mommy) pondering visit Michelle's site MEGOAgain.com.