There are thousands of people, no, hundreds of thousands of people leaping into social media marketing and social networks without a detailed method they are going to utilize to build their business. With the exponential multiplication of ways to reach people, it’s even MORE important to understand the process of social media marketing that produces money!

Social media marketing is something that I learned through trial and error as I’ve been recovering from the car accident last year and have had a background in social networking since the original social network, AOL was king. Being unable to work a normal job gave me the chance to develop a new career path. But for the hard workin’ 8-5′er with kids, a mortgage and everything else we have to contend with as adults, learning a new way to do business, or start a business, it has to be incredibly time efficient and full of knowledge that you can turn around and put into action. That’s why I direct the majority of people who are new to social media marketing, to the Social Marketing Method.

A fellow Carter, Brian Carter (we’re not related, but he’s a real cool cat too. Funny guy. you can follow him on Twitter. He’s @BrianCarter) “is Director of SEO, PPC, and Social Media at Fuel Interactive, a full-service interactive agency in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.”

Brian recently posted over at Search Engine People, one of the finest breakdowns of the “method to the madness” that IS social media marketing I’ve seen recently. Here’s just one image of many that are available via PDF:

6 spheres of social media marketing

You can see the methods to each sphere of the process and how the development of connection, trust & relationship correspond with every stage of the internet marketing process.

What’s the Point of The 6 Spheres Diagram?

The point is for you to see how it’s a process, with different
actions and tactics depending on how close your prospect is to your
ultimate goal.

The assumption is that you want prospects to buy something, or if
you’re a charity or non-profit, you might want them to donate or sign a
petition.

(Yes, maybe now your goal is to get emails or build your twitter
account or whatever- but those are ends that become means to the real
end… if you’re ultimately not making money, you’re going to have to get
another job.)

Surviving and thriving means keeping the end in mind, which is the small green sphere at the bottom.

What Brian is able to show you through the rest of that post is that no matter where you are in the relationship, branding, or sales process, you can be empowered knowing where the person is at and what your next steps should be. It’s a great map for social media marketing. The Six Spheres of Social Media Marketing.

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