Yes, it’s that time again. It’s time for the 2010 United States Census. It’s time for the visits, the forms, and the lying honesty. Although it may seem like a worthless survey, a census is a great way to gauge the status of the nation. The final census results provide a close estimate on the number of citizens living in the nation, average family financial information, and national budget allocation needs.

Believe it or not, a social media census can be just as useful and insightful. It can give you a big picture view of how your social media presence is progressing, something that we all forget about from time to time. If you’re willing to stop, step back, and take a look at the big picture, you’re well on your way to a successful social media campaign.

What is a Social Media Census?

The concept is simple. A social media census is an inventory of your social media campaign or efforts. Everything and anything is covered – blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Buzz, LinkedIn, and so on.

Why is a Social Media Census Important?

A social media census can reveal important planning, implementation, and ROI information about your social media campaign. By asking yourself a series of questions, you’re able to get a firm grasp on all aspects of your approach to social media, including what you’re doing right and what you may need to change.

How Do I Complete My Social Media Census?

Unfortunately, there are no set questions or documents to answer in order to complete your social media census. It’s something that you need to make up on your own. However, I’ve included quite a long list of sample questions that will get you headed in the right direction.

The purpose of the social media census is to truly gauge the progress of your social media campaign. Consider it to be another way of looking at metrics or ROI. Your social media census should clue you in on your social media style, what you’re offering to your customers, the time you dedicate to your social media campaign, and many more areas.

Each week, NFL players and coaches watch game film of their team and their next opponent. They are looking for weaknesses, strengths, and communication styles on both sides of the ball. The hope is that the information they gain from game film will help them play better against that specific opponent. Your social media census is your game film. Use it to make your social media campaign a success.

Sample Census Questions

Blogs
What blog categories have the most posts? The least?
What are some key terms and phrases I seem to repeat as I’m writing?
How often am I producing content?
How can my readers interact with me and other visitors?
What area do I focus on the most with my blog – creating content, developing community, or planning?
How long does it take me to write a blog post?
How many times do I revise my blog entries before posting?
What content produces the most responses from readers?

Social Networking
How often do I post on Twitter or Facebook?
How many followers or friends have I engaged with in the past week? Two weeks? Month?
What posts seem to strike the most conversations among my followers and friends?
What posts do I respond to the most?
What time of day do I normally post updates or tweets? What about my friends and followers?
What common interests exist among me and my friends and followers?
How do I post or tweet – web, mobile, application, etc.?
How often do I schedule posts or tweets? Am I thinking ahead or playing catch-up?

Social Media Census Action Items and Quick Points

Perform a census on one aspect of your social media campaign today. Be honest and embrace the results.

Continue analyzing as the week progresses. Document your findings and conclusions.

Partner with a friend or colleague for accountability. They can serve as a listening ear and creative mind.

A social media census should be done once or twice a year, not once a decade. Yes, they’re that important.

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by net_efekt

Everyone has heard the old adage, “Money makes the world go ’round.”  Well, that’s only partially true.  Money does play a large part in making the world function but there would be no need for money if there were no products.  The development of a reliable product is critical to the success of any business and it’s essential to the success of your social media campaign.

What Is Your Product?

It might be tough for you to identify your social media product.  It’s not something that you sit around and ponder when you have nothing else to do.  In fact, you probably don’t even know what it is.  But, it’s important to identify your social media product because if you don’t, your social media strategies and campaigns will be unsuccessful.  You’ll be wondering aimlessly through Facebook Forest and Twitter Town without knowing what you’re doing.  We don’t want that, do we?

In order to understand your social media product, think about the content you are creating in your various social media outlets.  Do you retweet quotes or great blog links?  Do you post information about animals?  Do you dish the latest Hollywood gossip?  Your content is your product.  Let me repeat that – your content is your product.

Why Is Your Product Important?

Your product shapes your online reputation and how other people embrace your efforts.  It is human nature, whether we like it or not, to immediately judge or stereotype someone when we come into contact with them, even online.  Why do you think people follow you on Twitter or comment on your blog post?  They’ve judged you to be someone who knows what they’re talking about and they want more.  They want you and your product.

Your product determines the success or failure of your online presence.  Bottom line.  No questions asked.

How Do You Develop Your Product?

If you’re completely new to online media and social networking, congratulations.  You don’t have a product yet and there is a wide world of opportunities waiting for you.  If you’re a seasoned social media vet and don’t like the product you’ve created, you can change.  It might not be easy, though.

If you’re looking to develop or change your product, begin by thinking of things you dislike.  No, that wasn’t a typo.  Think of some things you dislike.  Now, write them down or put them in a text file under the category of “Non-Products.”  When brainstorming, it’s much easier to think of things you don’t like than things you do.  The world of possibilities broadens and more potential products can be recognized simply because you’ve thought about things you don’t like.

Next, list a few items or issues that generate a feeling of indifference.  You don’t care either way.  It could be socialism, sports, or Shakespeare.  After you’ve listed your indifferent items, jot down some things you favor or are interested in.  Make sure that you list the opposite of the things you don’t like.

You’ve just created a huge product catalog in a matter of minutes.  At this point, determine the ideas that you want to run with and do it.  It’s your product and your creation.  Make the most of it.

Remember that content is king and your content is your product.  Don’t be a salesperson for something you don’t enjoy.  Create and use content to develop the social media persona you want.  It’s your world; go for it.

Quick Tips for Products

Keep your list of products and non-products in case you want to enhance your product catalog at a later date.

Don’t be afraid to try new things or to become involved in unfamiliar areas.  This is what causes growth.

If you’re changing your product, make your followers and friends aware.  They’ll probably support you.

Whatever you do, keep it passionate and authentic.  Don’t create a product that doesn’t reflect the real you.

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by madstamper

A fair number of people tend not to do something unless they are rewarded in some way.  They want to get compensated for their efforts or at least get a small token of appreciation.  Unfortunately, Facebook and Twitter don’t hand out rewards to their subscribers simply for using their service.  Although nothing tangible is given, there are still a few reasons why embracing the Web 2.0 culture isn’t such a bad thing.

1.    Get connected.

Fact: In 2008, 1-in-8 married couples met via social networking websites. (Qualman, 2009)

Every human since the dawn of time has yearned to be part of a group and to connect with others.  Connections create communities.  Hoffman notes, “A community, whether virtual or real, is defined by the relationships that exist between its members.” (5, 2007) The components of Web 2.0?blogs, Facebook, iTunes, news feeds?are quick and easy ways to connect with others. (Barbaro, 2008) The world isn’t slowing down and it’s becoming tougher to create and maintain relationships.  Stay in touch using Web 2.0.

2.    Break loose.

Fact: There are approximately 37,500 new blog posts written each hour (or 10.4 posts per second) (LIS Education 2.0 Project, 2009)

Web 2.0 allows for a person to break loose from typical day-to-day activities and move into a different, and exciting, culture.  A person’s day no longer needs to consist of simply going to work, sitting in traffic, and grabbing McDonalds for dinner.  With the resources of Web 2.0, he or she can write about something interesting, read and respond to thoughtful articles, and participate in online videoconferences – all before bedtime.  Break the mold.  It’s easy.

3.    Stay up-to-date

Fact: Between 2:15pm and 3:15pm on June 25, 2009, the day of Michael Jackson’s death, CNN.com received over 20 million pageviews. (CNN)

Sharing information has never been so easy.  Most blogs display an icon that allows a person to share content with their friends on Facebook and Twitter.  Since content is constantly being recycled and passed on, information consumption is on the rise.  Breaking news spreads rapidly and social networking sites are often the first to report critical pieces of information.  Web 2.0 is a metropolis of data.  Embrace it.

4.    Become valuable.

Fact: Approximately 80% of companies use LinkedIn as a primary recruiting tool for new jobs. (Qualman, 2009)

Web 2.0 isn’t only for the people; it’s for corporations, too.  Companies have realized that social networking websites would be a great place to raise brand awareness and sales.  Although many companies want to embrace Web 2.0, they can’t because their employees don’t know the first thing about Twitter marketing or blogging.  Become a resource on all things Web 2.0 and it might lead to a promotion.

5.    Learn and grow.

Fact: There have been over 9 billion Twitter updates (also called tweets) to date. (Reed, 2010)

With all of the blog posts, Facebook updates, and tweets out there, it’s nearly impossible not to learn something new each day.  Web 2.0 is a great place for self-education, both formal and informal.  Maggiani notes that social networks in particular, “capture the essence of the community members and their backgrounds and expertise.” (20, 2009) The Web 2.0 world is full of things to learn.  As Einstein said, “Once you stop learning, you start dying.”

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by firehawk77

Social media marketing is new and it can be tough – it’s a confusing topic, it takes a lot of time, and there are no definitive ways to measure results.  However, there are a few obvious secrets that go unnoticed but could make your social media marketing experience easier.

If you’re new to social media marketing and you think everything is pointless, it’s not.  If you’re an experienced social media marketing vet and you aren’t getting results, don’t worry.  It’s time for an adjustment.

These obvious secrets of social media marketing will make your life easier.  Trust me.

1.  Remember: everyone is new to social media marketing, not just you.
2.  Plan ahead (blog posts, tweets).
3.  Don’t manage everything on your own; create a team.
4.  Develop a routine and stick with it.
5.  Devote a block of time to social media instead of an hour here and an hour there.
6.  Connect in person with your social media fan base.
7.  Try something different at least once a week.
8.  Find someone who can help you with your weaknesses.
9.  Construct a content creation plan for your blog posts.
10.  Solicit feedback from your followers and friends.  They will tell you what they want.
11.  Don’t just post information, have conversations.
12.  Outline achievable goals and objectives for your social media presence.
13.  Attend a conference or tweetup.  It will inspire you.  I promise.
14.  Step away when you get frustrated.
15.  Market yourself and your brand wherever you go.

These secrets make a difference but each of these may not work for you or your company.  Find out what works and run with it.

Social media marketing doesn’t have to be a taboo subject any longer.  How can these obvious secrets change your social media marketing?

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by caz777

Social media is a two-sided coin.

On one side of the coin are the hype peddlers who tell you that this stuff is hard and they have the secrets to guide you every step of the way. They obviously don’t want you to learn how to do this on your own.

The backside of the coin is worse. These people tell you to “jump in” … “try stuff” … “figure it out.”

That may work for you if you like to wander aimlessly in the dark. But it’s usually better to have some guidance.

I understand that 99% of professionals don’t have time to waste “figuring it out” by trial and error. But I also know that 99% of small businesses and nonprofits can’t afford to hire a social media consultant for thousands of dollars a month.

So here’s my five-part strategy for using social media.

PRESENCE => ENGAGEMENT => RELATIONSHIP => INFLUENCE => MAINTENANCE

1) Presence

Without presence you have nothing. This is the stage that you set up accounts and announce to the world that you are online. Most businesses have gotten to this stage already. If you’re business hasn’t developed an online social media presence, now is the time.

2) Engagement

Having a presence is good, but the next step is to begin engaging people online. You do this through listening and helping others. Your goal at this stage is to spend time developing a dialogue.

There are two ways to really make this work for you. First, target people geographically. There are people who live in your town or region already using social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr. Reach out to them since they are in your backyard.

Second, engage with people in your industry or area of interest. These folks may live half way around the world, but they share a common bond with you.

3) Relationship

As you begin to engage people natural relationships will form. Author Seth Godin calls it Permission Marketing. But I’ll caution you…

If you use social media for the SOLE purpose of marketing and only engage with people to ultimately market to them, you will  be seen as a smarmy dishonest person.

Instead, look to truly connect with folks for the sake of connecting. It’s okay to market and share products and services, but do it in a genuine way.

4) Influence

When you spend time building relationships with people by engaging them online, you will naturally build influence.

Influence is how businesses ultimately grow. But you only achieve influence when you spend time with a relationship.

5) Maintenance

Ask any divorce lawyer about this stage. Obviously all married people were in a relationship with influence at some point during their married lives. But they failed to maintain a relationship over time.

Don’t let this happen to your social media relationships. Continue to be helpful. Offer value. Be passionate and keep the lines of communication open.

People are not levers to pull. Social media is PEOPLE media. Be aware that each person you interact with could one day be your customer, advocate, investor, donor or friend.

Treating people like actual humans is, by far, the best strategy for social media.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership and How To Use Social Media To Find A Better Job. He is a producer, author, and speaker who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

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*Photo by pshutterbug

Ah yes, LinkedIn.  The word (or is it a phrase?) sends shivers down the spines of many, including people who use it often.  Some say LinkedIn is too complicated and others say it doesn’t yield results.  I’d say both types of people are wrong.

I’m going to give you seven surefire (and easy!) methods to building your network through LinkedIn.  How do I know they’re surefire?  I’ve used them and they worked.

There is no need to be afraid of LinkedIn once you know it’s possible to grow your network and circle of influence.  If I’m giving you the secrets…why not give them a try?

1.  Join a group.

This is probably the easiest way to grow your network on LinkedIn.  There is a group for everything imaginable – Toastmasters, Los Angeles, Harry Potter, Google Buzz.  You name it, there is a group for it on LinkedIn.  If there isn’t a group, create one!  When you’re part of a group, you will meet people with similar interests and your network will grow automatically.  Cool deal, huh?

2.  Post a thread to a group.

Once you’ve joined your group, strike up a conversation.  Make sure that you create a conversation with useful and valuable content.  Don’t just say, “Hey, what’s up?”  No one will respond.  If someone does, they probably aren’t worth having in your network.  If someone comments on your post, make sure you reply to them.  Conversation builds rapport and solid rapport can lead to a great professional relationship.

3.  Respond to a post by someone else.

Can’t think of anything to post as a new topic thread?  Easy enough.  Respond to an existing thread.  Once again, make sure you’re posting useful information.  Don’t simply agree with a statement that has been made.  If you agree, explain why.  If you don’t, state your opinion.  You begin to show you care about others when you weigh in on their topic of conversation.  When people know you care, you build your network and your trust.

4.  Search for people.

Searching for people is a great way to connect because it put you in the driver’s seat.  First, decide who you want to find.  How about current co-workers?  Maybe your boss from your last job?  How about people in your local area?  There is pretty much an endless scope of people you could locate on LinkedIn.  Find someone you know (or would like to know) and dive right in.

5.  Import your email contacts.

The ability to import email contacts into LinkedIn is awesome.  If you use your email address book a lot, this is a nice way to connect with people who you already email regularly.  LinkedIn will locate your contacts, find the people who have active LinkedIn accounts, and will allow you to invite others to join the site.  It’s a quick and easy way to grow your network.

6.  Advertise on other social networking profiles.

Whether you’ve been a LinkedIn member for five minutes or five months, it’s still good to advertise your LinkedIn existence on your other social networking profiles.  I know that there are a lot of friends on my Facebook page that I wouldn’t mind creating a “professional connection” with on LinkedIn.  Don’t just find others; have them find you.

7.  Spread the verbal word.

I know, it’s old school but it still works.  I drop the “L” word (or is a phrase?) in conversation a few times a week to see who uses LinkedIn and who doesn’t.  This method has actually led me establish quite a few connections and the results continue to grow.  At times, nothing beats good ol’ fashion yapping.

Now that you know seven ways to build your LinkedIn network, you should begin to establish connections on a regular basis.  Make sure that your connections are valuable; don’t just connect with people to raise the number displayed in your profile.  In social networking, and especially LinkedIn, it’s not the quantity of your connections, it’s the quality of your connections.

If you’d like, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by juliaf

Your organization may not be ready to use social media

Let’s look at social media as the vinyl siding on your newly constructed house. It will increase the value of the property, but without being attached to an actual wall it won’t keep the weather out.

Businesses and nonprofits usually break down into two categories:

1. Many businesses and nonprofits attempt to put their “social media siding” directly on the 2×4 stud-work but don’t actually finish the walls first. They wonder why their business isn’t weatherproof. These people jumped at using social media without a strong business foundation that could handle the increase in prospects and customer feedback.
2. The second type of business owner builds solid walls first and have a fairly decent business structure in place. But these folks are missing some “siding” that could help attract at least twice as many potential customers. They have all the fundamentals of their business in place but haven’t started using social media.

If you are the second type of business owner, then you are ready to start doubling your sales now by using social media. If you are the first type, keep reading….

Social media is a great place to reach out to your potential prospects. But you are probably jumping too fast. It’s hard for me to write this since I am so excited to help your business use social media…

BUT…

You probably don’t have the basics in place to really take advantage of social media marketing and community building.

Fundamentals

Remember that marketing is all about building trust and leading people into a relationship with you. This relationship may or may not involve buying something right away, but after time, if you lay a solid foundation, your prospects will become customers.

So before you delve into social media – how are you doing on the fundamentals of your business? I’m talking about the stuff like customer service, product creation, fulfillment, your website payment process, shipping and even your phone answering system. Without the basic business elements in place YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS using social media.

Start working on your business before you add social media

Do you have basic transaction elements on your website? Can you sell tickets effectively? If you are a nonprofit can you take online donations?

A customer service example…

A few years ago I read the book Selling the Invisible. The author, Harry Beckwith, pointed out that as  a business your customer service is not only competing with businesses down the street, but is competing with Disneyworld. Disney has raised the standard of customer service so high that unless you are near their standards, your customers will be unhappy.

Take heart. There are many things you can do to improve your business. Customer service can also be helped by social media. Look at the Comcast Cares Twitter stream for a great example. Comcast is using social media to fix a fundamental customer service problem.

The important principle to remember: work on getting your fundamentals right – then use social media as a tool. Don’t assume social media will become the solution.

At the end of the day social media is a tool-set, not a business solution.

Start making your business social media ready

Spend the next one to three months finishing your walls. Sit down with your employees and craft some basic guidelines for customer service and sales processes.

A great resource to help you build systems into your business is Michael Gerber’s book The E Myth. It is full of practical advice to make your business run with or without your direct input.

Once you have your business fundamentals figured out you can start layering in social media.

Identify your biggest challenge right now

It doesn’t matter if you’ve already started using social media or not. Spend the next 10 minutes brainstorming five areas in your business that you can improve fundamentally. This will make any social media you do that much more powerful.

Now go take action and let me know your results.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership and How To Use Social Media To Find A Better Job. He is a producer, author, and speaker who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

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It has amazed me what has been done through Twitter.  For example, businesses have integrated it into marketing campaigns, millions of dollars have been raised for good causes, and celebrities have become closer to fans.

Different tactics have been employed to accomplish the feats above but one particularly interesting strategy sticks out – scheduled tweets.  This isn’t a built-in feature of the Twitter.com web interface but it can be done through Twitter account management programs, such as HootSuite.  Scheduling tweets can enhance a movement or project and it can save you some valuable time.  The list below is not a comprehensive guide to the benefits of scheduling tweets but it illustrates the point that scheduling tweets can prove to be a valuable resource for you and your business.

Benefit #1 – You Keep Your Time

It takes some time to tweet tons of information, especially if you’re someone who produces content on a regular basis.  Scheduling tweets can save you a lot of time and frustration in the long run.  Here’s a scenario…

You’re a quote person.  You love to read them and you love to share them.  However, you don’t always have time to send one out during the day.  Let’s face it, your job is demanding.  It would save you a lot of time and effort to take 20 minutes at the beginning of each month and schedule a quotable tweet each day.  This way you don’t have to panic and wonder if you have sent out your quote of the day yet.

That is just one scenario as to how this would be save time.  There are plenty of others.  Scheduling tweets allows you to use up a few minutes now in order to save you hours of frustration later.

Action Step: Log into your Twitter client and schedule a post that will save you time down the road.  Do you have a message you send every day each week?  Schedule that post for the next three weeks.

Benefit #2 – Spread The Word

It can be tough to create a movement or to spread the word about a cause, especially if you are only doing it as a hobby or for a non-profit.  Scheduled tweets can ease the burden of spreading the word.  Want to promote your favorite charity or non-profit once or twice a week?  Schedule the tweets for certain days throughout the month and you’ll be good to go in just a few minutes.  No need to keep track of when the last post was sent or if you have already sent your two tweets this week.

Action Step: Think about a cause you’d like to tell others about.  Schedule two tweets in order to share some information about your cause.

Benefit #3 – Automation Made Easy

There are times when we all forget to tweet or we are not able to do so.  A great way to compensate for the loss of Twitter time is to schedule tweets.  You can maintain your Twitter presence without being near a cell phone or Internet connection.  Plus, your colleagues will be amazed when you tweet while you’re in a big meeting with the corporate executives.

Action Step: Figure out a time when you’ll be unavailable – a movie, a dead zone, or early in the morning – and schedule one or two tweets to post at this time.

These are only a few of the benefits of scheduling tweets.  There are limitless possibilities for scheduled tweets.  Be creative and imaginative.  Try a few different tactics and see what works for you.

Overall, scheduled tweets can save you time and energy while growing your Twitter presence and the trust others have in you.

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by NightLord

Written By: Nichole Kelly

The big question: “how Do I measure social media?”

There have been many, many discussions around social media measurement especially over the last year. For some reason, nailing down the best way to measure has evaded us all. Most of the challenge is a result of having metrics that can be compared from one company to the next.

Without that, it is hard to say if what you are doing is good, bad, or ugly. This is exacerbated with a certain level of fear of measuring social because it can be difficult to correlate something like Twitter followers to new business.

This is certainly an understandable fear. Just remember that social media is just a tool in your marketing tool kit. If you measure social media using some of the same measurements you’ve always used, it will start to make sense and be easier to justify your efforts.

There are 5 categories in the social media funnel.

Exposure

This is just like the exposure you’ve been measuring for years. Essentially, you are choosing metrics which measure your reach. How many people are listening to you or talking about your brand? To actually measure this it is a combination of your normal web analytics, your Twitter followers, your Facebook fans, and running a search for your brand mentions. I use Radian 6 for this, but you could also do a Google search and look at growth in the number of returned results but this isn’t as accurate.

Influence

This is prefaced by saying that this category of measurement is a little harder if you don’t have Radian 6. By measuring the number of mentions for industry key words against the number of times your brand is mentioned with those key words you can get a measurement of your share of voice in the industry. You can also get a report on the top influencers from your industry. Finally, sentiment, while still imprecise, gives you a general measurement of whether people say you suck or you rock.

Engagement

This is fairly easily measured by tracking the number of clicks you get on the links you post, the number of times your messages are shared or retweeted, how many direct messages you get, and how many comments you receive.

Action/Convert

Is any of this contributing to the pipeline? Measure the pieces of content that tie to your sales process whether it be a white paper, webinar, lead generation form, pitch or proposal.

Sales

Oh, the elusive white horse. How much money are these efforts generating? If you’ve measured this far, you can measure what translate into dough.

Retain

The step many forget. Don’t forget to follow these customers and look at their repeat business and retention rates.

Remember, social media is like the almighty assist. It can help add more opportunities to convert business, but at the end of the day it is just putting leads in the funnel. Your normal sales process is responsible for converting those leads.

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Nichole is the Director of Social Media for CareOne Debt Relief Services and Vice President of Communications for the Baltimore Chapter of the American Marketing Association. She also blogs about social media and marketing innovation at nicholekelly.com

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The point of social networking is to connect with people, whether it is family, friends, co-workers, or clients.  A lot of businesses have started to use Twitter to connect with customers because it is easy.  They can type a message of 140 characters or less and hit the send button.  Done.

There is a misconception that Facebook isn’t the network for interacting with fans or customers.  That’s not the case.  It just takes a different approach.

Here are 14 ways you can connect with your Facebook fans:

1.  Ask a question on your fan page.
2.  Request feedback about your brand or product on your page.
3.  Upload images relating to your brand and ask for funny captions.
4.  Make a commitment to update your fan page status three or four times a week.  Start today.
5.  Record a “thank you” video for your fans.
6.  Participate in conversations taking place on your fan page.
7.  Give away a prize.
8.  Post coupons.
9.  Create polls and surveys.  Make sure they aren’t too bland.
10.  Ask your fans for new product ideas or for topics of discussion on your page.
11.  Develop a VIP list for fans who want to get inside information before everyone else.
12.  Send individual fans messages telling them that you value their business and partnership.
13.  Randomly select one day per week to receive some free gear.
14.  Create a Facebook Group for your business or join an existing group and invite your fans.

See?  Connecting with your Facebook fans isn’t too difficult!

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by clix