There should be really no doubt anymore on the weight of Social Media sites for marketers and advertisers alike, but is it all hype?  How many people really click those ads on FaceBook compared to how many buy from such a site? According to Knowledge Base only 5% social site users have ever used a social site to help them make a buying decision and only 16% of social media users say they are more likely to buy from companies that advertise on social sites. .. hmm.

One of the many ways that Social media sites can help is by allowing articles, posts, micro-blogs, videos, and the like get a lot more exposure by having other people "like" what you have posted. This way it allows much more visibility to your "stuff" which in return should have a back-link to your website or product site. In other words social media is not the place to sell products, but to write about your products or services amongst other things.

One of the biggest mistakes we see new social media users make trying to sell a product or service is every-time they post something it is about their product or service. Many times you click on the link and it is a "squeeze page" or a link farm to squeeze pages!  They have not yet learned that social media is never and never should be  just about "me -me -me" and your product or service.

Before you will be able to gain respect from others, you will need to promote other peoples comments, post about stuff you or your followers would be interested in hearing about that isn't always a commercial for you. You can write informative articles and then provide a back-link to your product, it doesn't have to be or even should be a page that is just full of product links.

Writing informative articles and linking to them from your social sites will do three very important things.

1. Add a short bio on you with a link to your website at the bottom of your article. By doing this it provides a valuable back-link to your website.
2. Provide you with credibility. Other people will start sharing your articles, video's or posts with others and so on and so on. (As long as they are not just about you and your product.)
3. By writing articles, the article itself can get to the top of the search engines when done correctly. This in return gets you more visibility, more followers and more interaction.

Use your Social Media sites like Twitter, FaceBook and the like to promote your information article or video. Remember as well, if people are not clicking your link, don't be discouraged, some will, some won't. Not everyone will click it, but people that are interested in hearing more will. Research has shown that it takes the average consumer 5 impressions, or viewing of your marketing before they start to feel as if they know you and trust you. That's when they'll call you with a slam-dunk deal, already pre-disposed to doing business with YOU!

Their are many industries that have tried to use the social networks to sell. Many have huge product launches that have many people that are selling the same thing. With the numbers of people that can be contacted, there is no doubt that it may work for them, even though we don't agree with it in all cases.

With just you alone, you have to follow the age old principle, use social media so people can get to "know, like, trust". You can write, link to and promote other interesting stuff and you will have more respect from your followers and for helping them, many return the favor by promoting you as well.

Bottom line is social media sites get you more visibility and recognition when you use it correctly for whatever your marketing. Using your Social Media sites correctly all adds up to more credibility. From that you will get more traffic, more leads and more sales. Using Social Medial methods that are available to us, they really can help generate more leads to your product.

Be patient, doing it right doesn't always happen overnight. Depending on your niche, it may take several months to get a good and loyal following of people.

For more valuable information on using Social Media to sell, please see How to Use Social Media to Market Effectively