Social Media Marketing is probably one of the fastest, most wide spread, forms in which communication is growing. Great networking sites such as: Facebook, Twitter, Squidoo, HubPages, and blogging sites. Unfortunately these sites are often not used to the best of their ability for social media marketing because people are simply not informed. Now you will be.

Below are the TOP 10 ways to obtaining success within the Social Media Marketing world. Simply read, absorb, and apply, and you will receive the greatest outcome for your company, product, brand and yourself as you become an efficient communicator in social media marketing.

1. Be Personal– If you want to grow your network of followers with whom you will build trust, personalize your own profile. Do not turn your profile into a billboard for your company and/or product. You should instead be yourself and personalize your profile with a few things that let people get to know you. Be simple and honest. The more they know and trust you, the more they will learn to trust your company.

2. Build Lasting Relationships – Use social networks to increase your reach, and get to know people through casual personal contact. If you truly plan on long term business relationships, you must allow these relationships to grow naturally. Being someone’s friend first is always going to be the best way to allow them to be your business friend as well. Relationships come first in social media, business second! You may have heard the saying that you must build ‘know, like and trust’. Well, this is how you build the ‘know’ part. Know your friends and they will know you in the social aspect and with future perspective in the business aspect too.

3. Place Value and Trust – To build the ‘like’ part of “know, like and trust”; you must provide some kind of value, whether it be educational, entertaining, or enlightening. Inform the people about you and your business in a positive, helpful manner. The trust will follow when you provide value with consistency, visibility, and honesty. Trust is the most important way to reach success.

4. Compose Contacts– As you make friends with people on social networks add them as contacts on multiple social media aspects. The number of contacts you have will indirectly expand constantly as you take part in the Social media world by contributing.

5. Enlist in groups — You must become involved in the social networking world if you expect to communicate effectively in it. By joining to groups you connect to more people and show personal interest more than just business interest. Your contacts will feel more personal towards you as they see you have many things in common.

6. Do Your Part— Within your groups, contribute. Go to activities, comment on interests, and create contacts within your group as well. Remember your friends all have friends who have friends who have other friends. The more you grow, communicate and build trust, the more they will too.

7. Be Seen—Stay visible and active. If your contacts and friends don’t know you are there, they won’t stay in touch or care what you have to say. Constantly comment and add new groups you’re interested in and communicate.

8. Declare Yourself— Post your information. By posting updates yourself you will be able to create links to your own website and pull your friends/contacts into your business world, now that they trust you and are a part of your social world. Have subtle and honest discussions about specific products. Do not advertise your brands or company, but communicate about them.

9. Discuss Honestly— As you communicate about business matters remember that the people always come first! Ask for advice, other people’s opinions on how to make things better. See what products they like to use and why. Comment quickly, responsible and effectively. Listen to what they have to say. If you ignore them, they’ll ignore you. Honest communication and trust is the best way to receive success, especially in Social Media Marketing.

10. SPAM-Free is the Way to Be— While you declare yourself stay away from SPAM, this creates a barrier within your trust. As author Vicki Berry said in an article: Rules with Social Media, “It is particularly presumptuous and unprofessional to post your product ads or business opportunities on someone’s social networking profile. This is akin to walking into their house without invitation while they are having a cocktail with their family or friends, or perhaps even their own business associates, and launching into a pitch! This makes you stand out as an amateur. And it will get you ignored, un-followed, or worse, blocked.”

Social Media Marketing is an easy and extremely effective way to get your message and product out into the world. All you need to do is be wise in the way you do so. Remember that it is about the people, communicating and exponential expansion. Build their trust and prove that you are more than a business owner, and that you are truly their friend. If they know that you will always have their support.