This weekend is full of goodies for you to read. I have read some already; while others I have yet to have a chance to chew on.

What are you reading on the internet this weekend? Share your great reading finds by commenting on this post.

Here is the Social Savvy Weekend Wrap Up for this week:

The Social Impact of Friendships and Lies -I found myself laughing as I read this post. Jason hit on such a relevant point of how watered down friendships have become as a result of social media.  Does that mean that social media is the cause. No, I don’t think. Read it to find out Jason’s take.

How Sticky Is Your Site? – Lexi uses her own client as an example of how to make your site sticky. Great read!

The Most Powerful Marketing Tool – Pat shares how the art of story telling can serve s strong component to your marketing strategy.

Reality Check: A Blog Is Not a Business – This had to be one of my favorite reads of the week. It is a good read for anyone looking to become a profitable blogger. The advice is practical and makes a great deal of sense. David Risely talks about getting real and understand how you really make money blogging. You have to read this!

I hope you enjoy reading these posts. Do me a favor. Come back here to this post and let me know what you read and your thoughts.

For the last month I have been taking bites from one of the most delightful books on the topic of social media and marketing that I have read in a long time. Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone by Mitch Joel is an easy to read book with plenty of tasty morsels for the small business owner who doubts social media’s power to learn the truth.

Mitch Joel does an excellent job of intertwining digital marketing, social media, personal branding, and entrepreneurship in a clear, entertaining, and instructive manner that everyone can understand and apply. By reading the book we are able to see that in this technological world, we are all really just six pixels apart. This new “closeness” is why the face of business and marketing is changing by leaps and bounds.

I found myself laughing out loud and shaking my head in agreement with Mitch’s realistic approach. There is no way a curious or doubting business owner would not glean a a great deal of knowledge from reading Six Pixels of Separation. It is simply filled  with logical useful information. No “guru” promises or fairy fantasies. Mitch Joel presents the truth and nothing but the truth.

It made me so curious that I found myself digesting his site, Twist Image Blog and the Six Pixels of Separation podcast. There is so much practical information there that I simply breathed a sigh of relief.

Mr. Joel was not trying to sell me anything. He was not making promises about huge numbers or six figures. He was simply providing stuff I can use and resonate with.

About the Giveaway

I was so exited when the folks over at the Hatchet Book Group told me that I can give away 5 copies of the book to the Social Savvy readers.

Are you ready for your chance to win? Really, this is a great book and the rules are pretty simple.

How you can get entries for your chance to win.

• Retweet the post using the hashtag #ssgiveaway or share it on Facebook. There are icons on the top right of this post that sharing on Twitter or Facebook easy.
• Leave a comment and tell me about your biggest pet peeve when it comes to social media.
• Leave a comment and tell me why you think you need to read Six Pixels of Separation

You can choose to do one or both!

Didn’t I tell you that getting an entry for the giveaway was a breeze?  I did not even tell you to sign up for my feed or the newsletter. Of course if you decided to do either, you will get an additional entry but it is not mandatory at all

Please know that the contest will run from January 26, 2010 until January 31, 2010 at 12:00 Midnight EST and is only open to U.S. and Canadian residents

When you create a profile on a social media network or platform, you need to make sure that you fill in the profile as completely as you can. To be honest I hate doing it too because some fo them have some areas that I feel are not necessary. However, I can see the benefit in them because it is all about connecting.

Here are a few tips about creating your social media profiles.

• If you get tired of filling in the profiles, then just save the information to your computer and copy and paste. It can be as difficult or as hard as you choose to make it.
• Add a picture. There is nothing like seeing your smiling face.
• Consider your audience. Try not to be self-centered in your profile.
• Don’t put too many links and turn people off. Self-promotion is important but so is subtlety
• Make sure that your brand is apparent. There is nothing worse than a person coming to your site, expecting to see one thing and you show them something totally different.

Your profile is an important part of your business. So don’t neglect it.

When you get into Social Media for the first time it can be rather overwhelming. Blogging, twitter, forums, Facebook, Linked In, Flickr, Stumbleupon, Food Buzz, Ning, Myspace, and the list goes on. It just all seems to be a bit much; especially when you are new to the Social Media game.

How does one find their place in the realm of Social Media?

Easy! You need to get in where you fit in, determining what your goals are, know where your audience is, and learn how to use your chosen platforms effectively. And get this, you don’t have to be all over the place to saturate your name on the internet. All you need to do it hook up with a group of like-minded people who are all about connections, helping others, love what your business represents and word about your business will spread like wildfire.

Let’s look at the keys I mentioned more closely.

1. Get in where you fit in. The bottom line is that not every social media platform is for you. Some people love Myspace and swear that is works for them. Others love Facebook or Twitter and make that same die hard statement about their chosen platform working for them. You know why is works for them? Because they found a place that fits their goals for using Social Media that also works with their personality. So, in essence you have to find a place that fits you. There is no other way to say it.
2. What are your goals? You have to determine why you need or want to get into Social Media and Networking. If you are doing it for business, marketing, or ministry purposes you need to be very strategic. Just remember in being strategic you still need to be relational. The new marketing strategy is all about relating to your audience. So sit down determine what your goals are and how you plan to use Social Media to help you with increasing your bottom line.
3. Know where your audience is. In discovering your audience you must first know your target. What is your bull’s eye? You cannot join Twitter looking for homeschoolers and follow only Internet Marketers. I am not saying that you should not follow people outside of your chosen niche, but you do need to make sure that you are hitting your target in your social networking efforts.
4. Learn to use your chosen platforms. With most Social Media platforms, there is no way to mess it up unless you hit “delete my profile”. The most you will do is use an application wrong. Now if you have a blog and you want to play with code, please be careful because you can mess that up big time. Find a professional to help you with that if you are not familiar with it. For the most part you can play with Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and others to see how they work. But if you feel uncomfortable walking uncharted territory just find a Social Media Consultant/VA to help you on your way.

These four keys are very important in your Social Media journey. I for one only use a few chosen platforms: Stumbleupon, Twitter, blogging, podcast, Facebook (sparingly as I am still trying to get it), and Ning. I just don’t have the time to be all over the place and it really does not increase my bottom line at all.

Take the time to map out your ideas with a Social Media Consultant/VA or on your own by studying the various platforms available.You will find that by going forward with a plan will help your endeavors all the more.

When you decide that Social Media will be a part of your marketing strategy, you need to be ready to relate. There is no way you can be truly successful with Social Media if you are not willing to relate. There is value in relating with your market and beyond.

Social Media is all about connecting and connecting is all about learning, growing, and working together for the greater good – whatever your greater good may be. There is no way around meeting, greeting, and getting to know someone when it comes to Social Media. Unless of course you just throw your profile up and that’s about it. Even putting link after link relates to people. It relates to them that you just may be a money hungry person who really has no concern for their lives or even who they are. Marketing as we know it today, just cannot relate to people in that manner.

Relating is communicating and the way you do will speak volumes about who you really are. That means that Social Media can work for you or it can work against you. It is all about how you convey your message.

What do you really want people to say and know about you?

Remember that although the internet has over a million people getting on for the first time everyday, the circles traveled are still pretty small; and word about how you relate will travel fast. So it is in your best interest to make it work well for you. And that means more than what you may think it does.

If you are going to try and use Social Media as a marketing tool, you had better make sure that you are a little bit transparent. That is not saying that you have to tell all your business. However, you had better be willing to share a little bit of you with your market. Doing so helps to build trust, a loyal following, and will help you increase your bottom line. Again, it all goes back to relating.

Earlier in this post, I mentioned that, “There is value in relating with your market and beyond”. The beyond are those people on social networks you join, who find you on Google search or whatever search engine they are on, and people you know who may not fit the profile of the people you envision as your target market. Believe it or not what you relate will hold some value with them as well. They may know someone in their circle of influence who needs your services.

This is why you want to convey you and your marketing message wherever you go because you really never know.

When you are using Social Media as a part of your marketing plan, there must be some balance. There are many ways to convey your marketing message to your audience utilizing Social Media. What you use and how you use it must all be considered and planned out strategically and with great wisdom.

If you are not quite sure where to go with Social Media marketing, find a person who does it and does it well. Ask them the how, the why, and the what. Read books on the subject. Find a Social Media Strategist or Virtual assistant who can help you maneuver through the channels. Or simply be you – that is the greatest tool you can use to get your message across.