So you have decided to jump into this thing called social media.
You've set up a twitter account, started a Facebook fan page, maybe you've even signed up for a LinkedIn account.
Those are all wonderful things.
I'm sure you've put the basic things in your profile like your photo, your website and your contact information.
Perhaps you have even connected with some of your old classmates or colleagues, maybe even some relatives.
So you've got all of this activity going but no sales.
How do you rectify this situation? What are you doing wrong? This is a good time to enlist the help of someone who specializes in social networking.
I realize that social networking has not been around in its current format for very long.
This makes it very tough to tell who to get help from.
How do I know this person knows what she is talking about? The rest of this article will give you some things to look out for when you go to look for an online networking consultant.
How long has this person been online? While it is true that you can grasp the basics of social media pretty quickly, you don't want to take advice for someone who just got on the Internet yesterday.
This person really doesn't have enough experience online to teach you the ins and outs of online networking.
You want someone that has weathered some storms.
I would say you should look for someone who has been online for at least two years.
This is because you don't want to hire someone who is experimenting on your dime.
If you hire an expert that has been around for a little while, you will get someone who has experimented with their own account so they already know what works.
How many people are following this person? People are always saying stuff like "quality not quantity" when it comes to social media.
This may be true for regular accounts, but not for someone calling themselves a social networking consultant.
If someone is going to advise you on how to grow your online networking fan base, they should at least have more followers than you do.
If they have less followers than you, they really can't tell you how to get more followers because they haven't figured it out themselves.
However, the number of followers is not the most important thing to take into consideration when selecting an online networking consultant.
What does their interaction look like? This is the most important factor to look at when choosing someone to help you with your social media strategy.
If all you see in your prospective consultant's stream is self promotional messages, stay away from this person.
That is not a model you want to follow.
Ideally you want a nice balance of personal and business information in a social media stream.
This lets people know you are a real person.
That's the whole point of this exercise, after all, to get to know real people.
Succeeding in a social media campaign can be a huge benefit for your business.
You can get qualified leads without spending money on advertising.
You don't have to worry about the latest Google slap or ban.
You can shorten your learning curve with social media by hiring a competent social networking consultant.
Do your research before you pick someone to work with.
Now what are you waiting on? Go out there and get social!