i will be twitter-spammed for talking about social media marketing

but here is my take on it anyway.

If you want to sell stuff to me via social networks:

1. Your product has to be something relevant to me socially, or be something I enjoy using. Example: beer, I enjoy using; wrenches I do not. *but* if I am a mechanic and have lots of mechanic friends, I might want to see content about your wrenches so I can share it with them.

2. Your product has to be something I use frequently. As much as I love my car I already have one and I don't need information about lease financing offers. I will seek that out when I need it. Same goes for airfare deals- Southwest, I'm looking at you here.

3. Your message has to be interesting or useful. Communicate about new products or deals, or interesting news about your products. Don't just post advertisements. Don't post the same information twice. Do post regularly and reliably, otherwise you appear unenthusiastic about your product.

4. You need to be a person. People don't communicate by press releases, so be personable and even use your real name if you are posting on behalf of a company. Respond to people who ask you questions.

All this said, there have only been a handful of companies that I follow that I have purchased products from because of their social media marketing. It's hard to do right and as I've indicated you have to have an appropriate product to begin with.


Edit:
5. Do not use txt-spk. Please. It hurts my brain:

@meijer: Hello Savvy Savers. $104 worth of #savings & #deals w/ MealBox #coupons this wk. Could B a wrld rcrd! http://bit.ly/Y6zDN ^BV