posted by Mark

When I read about the rise of social network marketing, I’m always reminded of those old kung fu movies, where a masked warrior moves silently through the shadows to defeat dozens of enemy samurai. Why? Because today’s marketers, like the old-time ninjas of the silver screen, need to rely on stealth to reach their goal and turn contacts into customers.

The problem isn't a new one... either to life or this blog. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are filled to the brim with buyers; at the same time, they don't come to any of these virtual destinations to be sold. That can create what seems like an unwinnable dilemma – come on too strong, and people will ignore you; fail to market it all and you'll be making lots of friends who will never buy anything. As much fun as it might be, that's not anyone's idea of a good business plan.

And so, your social networking marketing plan has to hide under the cloak of darkness. Here are three quick tips to help you forge a decisive attack:

Show, don't tell. It's bad form to tweet that people can save money by working with you, for instance, but perfectly all right to congratulate a client for improving their bottom line as a result of your services.

Hide everything behind humor and entertainment. There's always room online for something that makes people laugh, or at least gives them a momentary break from their day-to-day lives. Try to think of ways to embed your marketing message into a format that accomplishes one of those things.

Strike decisively. In the rare event that you do advertise or broadcast an offer via social networking, make it so strong and compelling that people can't help but have a look. You aren't going to get many opportunities to ask for business outright, so make every one count.