When networking in social media as a business there are a few constant rules you can never forget if you're looking to effectively leverage the space.

Social media networking is about people and building relationships.

If you're business wants to enter this platform, you must take into consideration, we know - it's hard to believe, but - consumers are not here to get excited about your products. They are here to have fun. Understanding this, you can begin to tailor your approach to messaging in the space to more effectively reach your potential consumers in a way that appeals to them in that medium. In other words - be fun and entertaining and don't be annoying!

Are you ready?

…to drive low-cost leads through customer referrals and highly targeted Facebook advertising programs?

…for an active YouTube channel with current videos that enhance your brand while building your Internet search results?

…to reduce the cost of your pay-per-click campaign by building your relevance score with Google?

…to have a website that is designed for usability on both smartphones and tablet devices?

Did you know that 95% of homebuyers use the Internet for research?

Pinterest is pretty much one giant endorsement of goods, for women by women. And thus far, emphasis has been placed on crafts, home interiors and gardens, cooking, entertaining and art. However, Pinterest is growing faster than Facebook when it was its size, with more seven million unique visitors in December. And it’s driving more traffic to company websites and blogs than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined.

The online social pinboard harnesses the power of personal referral. Word of mouth is arguably the most effective selling tool, and a strong presence on Pinterest empowers just that.

Promoting your business on Pinterest: What you need to know

Pinterest can be a useful tool to promote new products and interact with potential customers. You can create pinboards for the type of products or services you sell (with links back to your website) and add pinboards like, “Things We Love” or “Sale Items.”

I’ve diligently covered such topics as the negative consequences of impulsive social media posts, pondered religion’s place on Facebook and Twitter and stressed the importance of continuity in branding; I even drew a comparison between Ernest Hemingway’s rules for writing concisely and advertising copy. But I have yet to write about two topics that are near and dear to my heart: grammar and punctuation!

It’s time to refresh you on the basics you learned in fifth grade—a few grammatical musts and never-evers that you may kind-of remember but have been hesitant to use due to uncertainty.

For starters, there is the good old lay versus lie issue. Lay requires a direct object and lie does not (translation: You lie down on the bed (no direct object) but you lay the keys on the table (the keys are the direct object).
I am so glad to have gotten that off my chest. Moving forward.

What emotions are conveyed when consumers hear your company’s name? Proper branding is critical to the success of any business.

Branding is more than just a logo (although the logo is high in the hierarchy of consumer impressions)—it’s an intangible asset.

Do you stand for something? What is it?
Are you marketing just a product or service, or do you stand for something consumers can relate to? People respond positively to companies that have passion and negatively to those who are perceived as trying to make a quick buck off them. Wouldn’t it be awful if you actually wanted to improve peoples’ lives by your product or service, but because of poor branding, you were being treating as just another source of unwarranted noise in the realm of advertising, marketing and public relations?

If Sigmund Freud was alive today, he might have seen his Pleasure Principle—a psychoanalytic concept in which individuals seek instant gratification (seeking pleasure and avoiding suffering)—come full circle. The concept is based on infancy and early childhood wants and needs. However, the need for instant responses, instant updates, instant imagery, instant information and instant results often creates negative responses when not addressed in a timely manner (i.e., now!). Anxiousness, irritation, possibly fear all come to mind when technological gratifications have not been met. The modern world, which now allows people around the globe connect instantly, has subtly reverted even the most technologically savvy back to a childlike emotional state.

You have followers on your social media outlets because for one reason or another, your audience cares. Don’t lose credibility by drenching your followers with unimportant, untailored posts. Your fate could send you into the Spam Zone, a very crowded and nearly inescapable place to be.

It’s understandable that you want to continually increase your number of fans. However, a common misconception is to take out the megaphone and turn up the volume all the way. Instead, focus on the interests of your followers and your relationship with them. Don’t post just to post. Tailoring your messages (and your list) helps build a reputation that’s worth owning.

If Jesus had a Facebook account, imagine the amount of people he could have reached. What if he could tweet daily lessons on love and kindness? The power of social media and its ability to connect millions upon millions of people around the world is awe inspiring, and the effect of powerful messaging can be extraordinary, if done properly. So where is religion’s place in technology, and how can it be used to impact the most amount of people?

While a website provides pertinent information, it fails to connect people.

What would Don Draper do with Google and an iMac? The savvy ad executive of ”Mad Men,” accustomed to cocktail-induced, cigarette-filled and feet-kicked-on-the- desk-style of creative meetings, might feel a tad nostalgic for his Lucky Strike days in 2011. What ever happened to the days of creative exchanges in person? Together Everyone Achieves More (TEAM): but do they?

As a result of the increased use of technology, collaboration seems to be decreasing among colleagues and business partners. The days of collective brainstorming—in person—have been replaced by the sound of dinging Smartphones and the sight of a zillion unread e-mails.