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I personally feel that it is easier to build a network from the ground-floor up by primarily using the Profile Page. This is because the relationships connected to the Profile page are a 2-way street, whereas the Fan Page relationships are one-way. I feel a Fan Page is essential, and that you should have a Fan Page that funnels those who really jive with you on your Facebook Profile Page become your Fan. I think ultimately, Fans are more valuable than Friends, because they’ve shown extra loyalty, and obviously like the content you’re pushing out. There is a limit to the number of friends you can have, or i would never opt for the fan page. The fan page also has insights, but those aren’t as valuable to me as the actual 2-way street relationship that’s available to the Facebook Profile Page.
The answer is… as much as you can. The more time you spend on your social media account, making relevant posts, sharing interesting content, engaging with people in your target market and sharing about yourself, the more business you will get from your efforts. With that said, you can “get by” minimally with logging in once per day for roughly 30 minutes–if, and I do mean IF–you have a sound strategy and you know what you’re doing. If you don’t know what you’re doing, spending 10 hours on Facebook or Twitter will be a waste of your time.
The goal of social media marketing should center around “building community.” Building community is the essence of social media marketing. In building community, it makes sense to start in a place where individuals in your target market already congregate, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. So, if your target market is more likely to be on Facebook, as is the case for most B2C small businesses, then build your community on Facebook. If your target market is mostly business professionals, then LinkedIn may be your best bet. Regardless of where you build your network, you want to funnel people to your website / blogsite. Ultimately, you want your network hanging out at your own place because the noise level is much lower, and the loyalty ratio increases as people get closer to you.
I feel that you should become friends with people you don’t know, for obvious reasons. As marketers, we are trying to reach as many people as possible with your brand message so as to get people thinking about you, talking about you and sharing your content virally… to start a buzz. Doing this will require LOTS of people. We want as many people (within your target market, of course) to know about you as possible. The key is not so much whether you know them or not, but rather, are they in your niche. Personally, I don’t spend too much time fretting about who I let in. I let most everyone in who makes a friend request. When I’m building my network and searching for good people to connect with, I’m much more picky. I’ll only reach out to those who seem to fit my niche target market based on their visible Facebook profile info.
With that said, if anyone gives me the creeps, I do not let them in. If they contact me repeatedly, I block them.
I teach my 25% Rule for Facebook and my 10% Rule for Twitter. I am working on an article called, “Social Media Content Stew,” in which I will explain the different ingredients for amazing social content. One thing you want to do is use your social media feed as a sales presentation. Give concrete reasons and explanations why people should buy what you sell. Objections and rebuttals.
Shaun, I don’t use those formats at all. I am more focused on the relationships being built and quite frankly, I hate all the gadgetry. I consider it “feature creep” and I feel it gets in the way of the relationships that I’m building. I prefer to funnel people to my website for further information. I’m not a big fan of highly-trumped-up Fan Pages that look like gigantic advertisements. I don’t feel they add to the user experience. I think they get in the way of what we’re trying to do… That is, build relationships with people in our target market. I love Fan Pages, but I love simplicity more. I feel like it’s just another way to pump fads into the system.
There are 6 Essential Elements to a Successful Social Media Campaign, and they are:
1. Value
2. Consistency
3. Authenticity
4. Community
5. Engagement
You must understand and implement each of these concepts if you are to achieve optimal results with your social media strategy.
I get little questions all the time that deal with technical user-knowledge issues. These questions need to be addressed in the coaching format. I have a wonderful group coaching program that shows you step-by-step how to do everything you need to do, and that answers every single one of your questions. All of my coaching is based in a Facebook Group, so you conveniently learn to use Facebook, while on Facebook. We also use podcasts, webinars, video tutorials and direct teaching to get the job done. 
The answer to this question depends on your organization, your target market, your commitment to the process and a number of other factors. If you do everything like you’re supposed to, you should see incredible results within a month-or-two. Like any type of marketing, it’s a long-term thing. I would give it a year and then look at the results. The thing about social media marketing is that it bolsters everything else you’re doing. It’s a great place to interact with clients, prospects and industry leaders. So, if you have a good database already built up, and you bring those people to your social media accounts, you may experience immediate results. It all depends on where you’re at, and what your business does.
I like REAL, AUTHENTIC, TRANSPARENT engagement, centered around a concise marketing message that’s nailed down to a tee. People don’t want gadgetry. They want connection.
