As Social Media gains popularity, we start to see newfangled ways of automating an online presence and creating short cuts to maintaining a virtual existence.

While automation may have a small role in our online strategies, it’s important to remember that good manners and common courtesy have more to do with a thriving online presence than scheduled tweets and automated blogs posts.

Here are four extremely simple points to keep in mind when building your own online presence:

Reciprocity.The heart and soul of social media is the act of reciprocity. If someone says hello to you, take a moment to say hello back. If someone retweets one of your tweets, return the favor. Respond to those who initiate communication with you and do it promptly. It seems simple enough, but you’d be surprised how few people actually take a moment to give back. The art of reciprocity will help you develop relationships with your online community.

Respect. Think twice about sending automatic direct messages. It’s disingenuous and downright tacky. Instead, think about sending a personalized message manually and leave out the business details, allowing people to get to know you first. If Friends and Followers sign up for your newsletter, make sure that you’re not inundating them with emails. We all get a lot of emails and the last thing you need is to get five emails in one day. Time your emails in a way that won’t be perceived as spam.

Courtesy. Without a doubt, a simple ‘thank you’ can go a long way. Take a moment to thank people for posting to your Wall, retweeting your links, and commenting on your Page. Acknowledging people and showing appreciation is the best marketing tool to date. If you want people to continue engaging with you, it’s important to acknowledge them and interact with them on a one-to-one basis.

Consideration. Wish people a happy birthday. Ask people how they are doing. Post links to your friends’ Walls that they might find interesting without any regard to business. Be friendly and help others without thinking about the bottom line. Business will come from these simple gestures. Be consistent and take a genuine interest in people. They don’t call it Social Media for nothing.

“Friends and good manners will carry you where money won’t go”.

Margaret Walker

Teachers are quickly harnessing the power of the Internet to disseminate information and connect with their students quickly and effectively.

I’ve created this blog post as a way to aggregate links as they pertain to Social Media and Education.

• 4 Tips for Integrating Social Media Into the Classroom
  
• 50 Terrific Twitter Tutorials for Teachers
  
• 25 Excellent Social Media Sites for Teachers
• How to Use Twitter on Campus
• Cautionary Tale For My Fellow Teacher
• Connecting Students, Teachers Through Social Network
• 85+ Resources: Educator Guide for Integrating Social Media

• Free Social Media Tools for Educators

Simply put, Twitter enables people to engage with one another in a real-time environment.

Tweeting as a marketing strategy is well worth the effort if you know what you’re doing and how to do it.

Ahhhh, yes. WHAT to do and HOW to do it.

I came across this great article that covers a lot of FAQs in a straightforward, concise way using descriptive examples.

If you’re interested in learning how to develop a social media campaign incorporating Twitter in the equation, check out this article:
Tweeting for Companies 101.

For more how-to tips on Twitter, please see:

• How to Twitter When You’re Brand Spankin New
• How to Leverage Twitter for Business
• The Ultimate Guide to Everything Twitter
• The Twitter Bible: Everything You Need to Know About Twitter
• The Twitter Guide Book via @Mashable
  

If you’re using Facebook and Twitter to generate leads for your business, it’s easy to experience —what I affectionately call— virtual overwhelm.

I’ve developed a valuable e-report called YOUR 15-MINUTES-A-DAY MAINTENANCE FORMULA. This step by step guide will show you how to effectively network on a daily basis in order to sustain your online momentum.

Social Networking doesn’t have to take up your entire day in order for you to reap the benefits.

Let me show you how I maintain my online momentum and generate weekly inquiries using this simple formula.

>> Sign up for my monthly newsletter to receive it instantly.

Thanks to all of you who were able to attend my call yesterday with Ron Hudson, of Immediate Influence Blog.

We discussed my new 15 MINUTES-A-DAY MAINTENANCE FORMULA for Facebook and Twitter.

Click here to download.

Here’s the replay information.

Simply click on the widget for Video Recording and Transcripts.

If you’re viewing this blog post as a NOTE on Facebook, you’ll need to click through to my actual blog to view the widget.

The good news is that the links work.

The bad news is that I forgot to record the phone call.

Yep, you heard me right.

I remembered to hit the video RECORD, but not the audio RECORD. Darn it!

You should still check out the cool and nifty widget from DimDim.

If you attended the call, I would love to hear your thoughts on the entire process.

Again, thanks so much for your interest.

This has been a wonderful learning experience for me and I am grateful for the opportunity.

- – -

You can also find Ron Hudson on Twitter.

Thanks to you, Ron, for inspiring me to do this. I appreciate the nudge!

So you’ve set up your Facebook and Twitter accounts—now what?

This Tuesday, August 25th at 11:00am PT/2:00pm ET, I’ll join Ron Hudson to present:

THRIVE ONLINE: Simple Steps for Facebook and Twitter

Click on embedded video for details or this link: http://su.pr/1LfCfP.

Register for the event using this widget:

I just finished reading and responding to a great blog post over on StartupNation by Rich Sloan about cybersquatting.

It’s an unfortunate downside to the Social Networking world and I’m seeing more and more of it lately.

But take heart!

There’s something that can be done about it NOW.

Does it surprise me that someone would come along and scoop up the StartupNation Twitter handle?

Nope, not at all.

The good people over on SuN didn’t see a use for Twitter at the time and didn’t register an account in their name.

They can say that their Twitter handle got ripped off, when in reality someone else beat them to the punch.

Yes, yes…in SuN’s particular case, the cybersquatter asked for $15,000.00 in return for the account (CLEARLY in bad taste).

The good news for Rich and SuN is that they had a trademark on their name, enabling them to claim the account legally.

But for the rest of us who don’t have legal trademarks on our business names (or real names) for that matter, it’s important to make sure to sign up (across the board) for the name you want to brand (even if you don’t plan on using that profile right now).

If you’re using Social Networking for professional purposes, I recommend using one account name and one avatar across the board for branding purposes.

**TIP** Use your First Name capitalized and then your Last Name capitalized (i.e., MiaChambers). DON’T use your business name as your profile name or your logo as your avatar. Be a person first and stand in front of your business. **

Take a look at this website to help you determine if your username is being used on other sites: http://knowem.com/.

While each site will have their own guidelines on how to “reclaim” your username, here’s some guidelines to follow if you find that your username has been taken on Twitter: How to Snap Up the Twitter Username You’ve Always Wanted.

Take a Saturday afternoon and register yourself on a few of the more popular Social Networking sites.

If you don’t have the time or interest to do this for yourself, have a Virtual Assistant do this for you.

Ask me how I can help.

Twitter is my newest Social Networking platform — addiction — of choice (find me at http://twitter.com/MiaChambers).

Recently, I’ve been experimenting with different applications that can be used injunction with Twitter. This week, I’m having fun with TwitPic. You can upload pictures directly from your phone or your desktop, and they will appear as a “tweet” on your profile page on Twitter.

This picture was my very first twitpic that I uploaded last week. You should try it out yourself. Taking quick pictures of your environment is a great way to enhance your online presence.

This morning, I had the pleasure of being the guest expert on Blog Talk Radio: Secrets of Her Success.

Darcy Volden Hoag, the Founder of Secrets of Her Success, graciously asked me to explain the virtues of Virtual Assistance and how delegation can help business owners prosper.

It was a great experience and I enjoyed conveying all of the benefits of working with a Virtual Assistant and answering some great questions about this burgeoning industry.

Technorati Profile

The majority of my clients find me through my Social Networking efforts.

I implement New Marketing techniques and Web 2.0 etiquette to attract like-minded people and potential clients.

In learning how to do this for myself, Social Networking has become my #1 client service. At this moment, I use Facebook as the corner stone for building a solid online presence for my clients.

I customize and maintain Facebook Profiles by pulling in additional online components to create a continuum of information.

I use a combination of professional and personal details to create an in-depth online presence, helping clients stand out in a sea of faces.

This is a summary of what I do for my clients on Facebook:

SET UP

The set up process of a Facebook Profile page can be a little confusing. There are a lot of behind the scenes settings that need to be adjusted in order to maximize professional exposure without offending a list of Friends. I adjust settings and notifications to avoid that virtual overwhelm.

I strategically place a limited amount of links throughout clients’ Profiles in order to maximize click-thrus to their websites.

I minimize the information throughout their Profiles so visitors don’t get overwhelmed with details, but rather, stay focused on pertinent links.

I craft HTML OPT-IN BOXES to increase sign ups and build lists. I use RSS FEEDS to pull in blog posts and increase exposure and blog traffic. I create and link a TWITTER account to enhance the opportunity and disseminate information. I use the status bar to promote websites, blogs, and events without being tacky in the process. I create GROUPS AND PAGES to further extend clients’ professional presence. I use a select amount of APPLICATIONS to reach out and engage interest.

I set up and PROMOTE TELESEMINARS using a simple and straightforward approach, minimizing details so that attendees understand how to properly register. Facebook doesn’t have autoresponders so I use an effective timetable to ensure attendees show up and show up on time.

MAINTENANCE

Daily maintenance is essential to create online energy around a website and a blog. Clients need to settle in for the long haul to yield optimum results. Consistent maintenance ensures networking success and creates more traffic around a website and a blog.

Social Networking success is more about a proper mindset, than it is about technology. It’s about reciprocity and providing useful information in a permission-based manner. I maintain virtual energy around my clients’ online presence by managing all of the steps involved in the process.

If you have the time and interest to set up and maintain your own Facebook profile, I’ve created a free e-book filled with step by step instructions on how to do it yourself.

If you’re a business owner or a Virtual Assistant and you’d like to find out how I can help, I encourage you to email me so we can discuss some options.

I wish you the best of luck in 2009!