10 Unusual Truths about Social Media

There are plenty of articles about social networking with tips for marketing to the social web, and many of them offer great advice.

Who is behind that friends profile?

Not All is As It Seems

Becoming a power user on most social media means you will be capable of driving lots of traffic with a few clicks. However, becoming “powerful” is not so easy, there’s politics involved.

The vast majority never manage to leverage much from the networks. Which is unfortunate because achieving success on social media can be worth its weight in gold (How much does a link weigh?).

The reasons and incentives are obvious.

With this is mind I present some less discussed

The Other Side of Social Networks

1. It is possible to buy your way to popularity on social media; it always has been. You just need to know who to talk to and how much to pay.

2. It is common to fake your way to becoming popular / trusted; you just have to understand how it’s done and who does it.

3. Originally a place where we went to avoid the special interests of news conglomerates, the social media landscape has quickly become ruled by large publications.

4. Even household names (or their *associates*) leave fake comments on Youtube.

5. Just like TV, nothing sells better than hot women and sex on social networks. Even women prefer to see women (male covershots do not sell magazines).

6. Many SEOs and online marketers will know how to game the networks before you do. Make friends with an SEO.

7. Social networks are not going away. If you haven’t started, then stop reading and sign up, start twittering, stumbling, digging, farking, voting and befriending. Get your social feeds organized.

8. Submitting your own stuff *appears* crass; try to get someone else to submit for you (the more powerful they are, the better). You can also use social networks for other things too

9. Many power users have multiple accounts, (or did). Rules are weaker in the early days (they’ll allow you to get away with more) when a new network is trying to grow; sign up right away if you can.

10. Bonus
As you’ve got this far (which only a small % of all of you that came to this page), here’s a free tip that you may find useful.

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