5 Tips to Become a Social Media Cool Kid

This is a guest post by Zach, who  writes at Onlinemarketingmashup. Like to Write for us: Read Shoutmeloud revenue sharing program.

Most everyone has jumped on the social media bandwagon by now in some shape or fashion. To get the most out of social media, you have to be “cool.” Just like in high school, the cool kids were the ones with the most influence. So, how do you go about being cool and getting this powerful influence?

Make lots of friends

To have power, reach and influence in social media, it helps if you can make lots of friends. Think about how you made friends growing up. You made friends by being in certain places at certain times. If you played sports, some of your friends were met at practice. Your best friend might have been your next door neighbor. The point I’m trying to make is begin spending time on the social networks you want to be successful on. It is hard to make friends if you’re not active. If you want to be a rock star on digg, spend a lot of time on digg. Spend time digging other peoples submissions and making comments. If you’re looking to expand your network on Twitter, be active on Twitter. Seems simple right?

Make sure your friends are cool

The cool kids are the ones with the most influence. Often times to be successful, it is all about “who you know.” The cool kids are the one’s that have 20,000 targeted and real followers. Not bots or randoms. The one’s that have 1,000 subscribers on StumbleUpon and the one’s that seem to get 90% of their submissions on the front page of digg. It is going to take a lot of time and effort to get these influential people to notice you. One tip is to be active on multiple networks and network with the same people across these networks.

Many of these social media power users have blogs. Contributing thoughtful comments on a regular basis on their blog might help you get noticed. Re-tweeting their posts regularly might help. Stumbling or digging their submissions… you get the point.

The more power users you can network with the better. They are the ones that can help you become successful and extend your reach tenfold.

Have things in common with your friends

You most likely have something in common with your closest friends. Online friends are the same. Make an effort to match your friend list with what you’re interested in. This makes it easier for everyone. Not too much fun reading other peoples content if you have no interest in it.

Make sure your friends trust you

Trust is crucial. If your friends don’t trust you, they won’t be inclined to help you out. Don’t spam your friends, don’t over sell your friends and don’t harass your friends. Stay relevant and stay honest and you’ll be fine.

Be there for your friends

To keep your social media relationships healthy, you must be there for your network. Do what you can to help those in your network and they will do the same for you. Re-tweet their content, share their content with your network. If you are just in it for yourself, your network won’t stay around for long.

Follow these guidelines and you’ll be well on your way to being too cool for school.

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Tagged as: guest author, guest post, marketing, Social media, social media tips, Social networking