However, all links are not equal. For example, Google is currently giving considerable weight to incoming links from the the social networks, whether that be social bookmarking sites like Delicious or content submission/voting sites like Digg and Reddit to name just a few. The theory behind this observation is that Google is looking to the social sites for ’social proof’ of what websites and content should or shouldn’t be trusted and to what degree.

So naturally you might be thinking that if you want to get higher rankings in Google you should start building heaps of links within the social networks by bookmarking and submitting your content. While this is a good idea, don’t even attempt to try and do it all yourself. By that I mean that it’s a ’social sin’ to bookmark your own web pages and submit your own content to the social networks. Don’t do it! That’s not what they were designed for and any attempt to do this en-masse (known as ‘gaming’) will only end up in you being blacklisted. Not just in the eyes of the social networks but also in the eyes of Google, who is keeping a very close eye on the blacklist reports that the social networks put out.

The key to success when it comes to building links from within the social networks and massively increasing your search engine rankings is to have OTHER PEOPLE bookmark and submit i.e. ’syndicate’ your content across the universe of social networks from their own computers.

To do this effectively you’ll need to build your own network of people who will commit to syndicating yours and each other member’s content. The thing is building up a significant and reliable network or group can take a very long time and if all the syndication efforts of the group need to be done ‘manually’ then it’s highly likely that such a group will fall apart. Trust me, I’m speaking from personal experience. I’ve been a member of a couple of ‘content syndicates’ over the last 2 years and even though they started out strong with inspired members, they both eventually fell apart because of the work involved and also because a large percentage of the members were getting their own content bookmarked and submitted but were not reciprocating. Not nice.

Then comes along Synnd which has totally solved all of the problems that the ‘manual labor’, ‘honor system’ type content syndication groups were (and still are) having.

With Synnd the whole process of syndicating each others content is largely automated and is based on a 100% transparent ‘automated’ + and – credit system. As your content is syndicated you ’spend’ credits and as you syndicate content for other members you ‘earn’ credits. So not only is it 100% honest, effective and accountable, but the powerful and constantly evolving technology that forms the basis of Synnd is doing 90% of the heavy lifting. You will not have to manually submit anything for anyone. Synnd takes care of it. I can tell you, it’s a beautiful thing to watch Synnd do her thing. She will take your content and effortlessly synndicate it to the far reaches of the Internet via the hundreds of social networking accounts belonging to members of the Synnd community, and she does so via their own computers. So it’s all ‘white hat’ and 100% legitimate. Best of all, the SEO benefits are outstanding. There’s not a single keyword in my markets that I can’t rank well for with Synnd.

In fact, with Synnd I’ve been able to pretty much abandon all the B.S ’social smooching’ I was doing on Facebook and Twitter (trying to ‘attract’ new customers) for hours each day, and get back to working ON my business. You know, the really important stuff like testing and tweaking my web copy and sales funnel and building relationships with actual customers.

If you’re spending 90% of your time doing the marketing for your business like I was, then I want to tell you that you can turn it around. Synnd is here for you right now, waiting for you to ‘outsource’ your marketing and put her to work. When she does you feel a weight lift off your shoulders…and then you can get back to your ‘real work’, which is growing your business.

Humans are social creatures. Embedded somewhere deep in our psyches lies the irresistible urge to seek out our own kind, to bond together and cultivate relationships and communities. It stands to reason that such a common and primitive instinct may be the precise reason why social networking services, such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter continue to see such a surge in popularity. In fact Stanford University recently began offering a class dealing strictly with the subject of the psychology of Facebook.

So what are the psychological reasons behind our obsession with social networking sites? Why are we becoming more and more likely to substitute virtual relationships and social interaction with for the real things? While there are many possible reasons, there are three main issues which are pretty compelling.

Relationships are difficult. It is not simply a matter of finding the time to build relationships, but rather the continued effort it takes to maintain them that weighs on us. When we are face to face in a social environment, we must constantly engage and be engaged. However, social networking services allow us to engage others on out own time, and often en masse. We can spend five minutes updating our status and still feel that we have participated in and active friendship and impacted our virtual society. These services allow us to feel connected and engaged, while still maintaining a physical separation.

Online social networking also gives us another advantage over actual social engagements because it allows us to exercise a strict control to the personae that we project to the society as a whole. We are able to pick the most flattering pictures and present the most pleasing view of our selves as we possibly can – something that just isn’t possible in the real world.

The final reason why we find online social interaction so appealing is that it is sterile. We feel empowered to protect our circle from unwanted influence. In the real world, it’s sometimes impossible to avoid the undesirable, but in virtual societies, avoiding a troublesome ex is a simple as a click of the mouse.

Without a doubt, these online services are influencing the way that we socialize. However there is little fear that online social communities will completely replace our face to face relationships. In the end, we still crave human touch, and that’s something that just can’t be simulated online.

With the top two social networking sites (namely Facebook and Myspace and let’s not forget Twitter) collectively garnering nearly 130 million unique visitors for January of 2009 alone, you could be leaving a free and potentially huge marketing tool completely untouched. There are many reasons why social network marketing is becoming a must for online marketing campaigns, but let’s look at a few of the most compelling.

Your customers are using social networking sites. It may seem a little too obvious, but it is in fact the most compelling reason of all. Regardless of what your target demographic may be, chances are a good percentage of your customers are frequenting social network sites. The simplest rule in marketing is making sure your message is where your customers can see it, and maintaining an active social networking presence is a great way to accomplish this.

Social networks help keep your online presence alive. Even if you think you do a fairly good job of keeping your website updated with fresh content, your customers might not see it that way. If a customer visited your website yesterday, what reason might her have to come back today? Even the best websites are somewhat static, and static quickly becomes stale to your customers. Social networking allows you a quick and easy way to offer fresh, vibrant and kinetic content to your customers.

Your customers have friends. The whole idea behind social networking sites is of course networking. That can work for your business is a big way. When you interact with your customers via social networking sites, much of that interaction will be visible to others in the network. Friends often share interests and every contact your customers maintain within their own networks is a potential customer for you.

Social networking is without a doubt one of the fastest growing segments of the internet at large. For this reason, it is quickly becoming one of the largest mediums for communication. Don’t miss the boat on this emerging opportunity. Establish your presence in the social network now before your competitors do. This is the future of online marketing. Transparent, personal and in real-time.

Since popular social networking sites can draw millions of visitors a day (numbers which rival even the largest of television networks) many web marketers are focusing more and more of their efforts on gaining exposure on these sites. While getting your message out to the masses is good, spending a little effort targeting that message is even better. With a little homework you can get a lot more bang for your buck for the same (or often even less) amount of effort.

Social Networks are not all created equal. Just like all media, social network sites are diversified to respond to the needs and desires of varying demographic groups. Each service offers different features and although there is much overlap, each has a unique leading demographic. Although the steps to honing in on your target demographics are very simple, they are all too often overlooked by overzealous webmasters eager to tap into sheer numbers.

Before you start any social network marketing campaign (or indeed any campaign) ask yourself a simple questions. Who is my target audience? Who is most likely to buy my product, read my blog or visit my site?

1. How old are they?
2. Are they male or female?
3. What is their average income?
4. What are their affiliations? Religious, political or otherwise?
5. What are their interests?

If you pay close attention, you will notice that all of the questions above are routinely collected by most social networking sites as a part of the user’s profile. In fact, social networks are in fact nothing more than giant marketing machines!

Once you know the answers to these questions, do your homework. There are literally dozens and dozens of reports available detailing the demographic breakdown of top social networking sites. Find out where your target customer lives and focus your effort there even if the overall exposure is lower. Once you take the time to get your message in front of the right people, the dividends of chasing efficient exposure rather than sheer numbers will be evident and with luck, you will see hits and conversions increase.

Bebo.com

Bebo, a subsidiary of AOL, was awarded the “TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award” in 2009. Already extremely popular in the United Kingdom, Bebo is quickly gaining popularity in the United States. Much like Myspace, Bebo offers users downloadable skins to customize their profiles, and offers drag and drop options for customizing the layout of particular modules within your profile, something that Myspace does not offer. Because the skins are available only via the Bebo community, there is no risk of exploits and viruses which commonly plague Myspace users. If Bebo maintains its momentum, it will definitely be a site to watch for the next few years.

Tumblr.com

Tumblr is a blend of several popular ideas into one convenient package, which expands on the micro-blog concepts such as Twitter while adding some of the richer formatting and multi-media posting features of more robust blogging services such as Vox or Blogger. If you enjoy the immediate gratification associated with twittering, but want a more robust set of formatting options, or multimedia content, Tumbler may be the choice for you.

Mixx.com

Like Digg.com, Mixx is a social book marking site whose aim is to help its users sort through the massive amounts of internet garbage in search of those elusive “pearls” that are the truly informative, interesting and unique posts. Unlike Digg, there is no vindictive banning, which punishes users for posting unpopular (even if relevant) posts. Unlike Digg, neither positive nor negative ratings of your posts can be done anonymously which forces users to be a lot more genuine (at least reserved) in their feedback. Mixx also offers an easy to use toolbar add on, much like Stumbleupon that makes adding posts much faster than Digg. If you are looking for a friendly social book marking service that is extremely easy to use, Mixx definitely fits the bill.

With social bookmarking growing steadily in popularity, users are constantly looking for the latest and greatest services. Where the masses will end up next is yet to be determined, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see one of the top three fall to up and coming contenders who are all scrambling to capitalize on the weaknesses of their predecessors.

Only time will tell if they will be successful.

Every day more and more people around the globe are flocking to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. And on a commercial level more and more businesses (from the small operations right up to Fortune 500 companies) are trying to tap into these networks for the potentially massive exposure and brand recognition.

If you are currently using social networking sites to promote your business, or are considering making the move to do so, review the following tips which may help you avoid common pitfalls that can quickly derail your social network marketing efforts.

Step 1) Target your customers like a laser beam.

Social network marketing is no different in theory than any other effective marketing strategy. Time must be carefully spent targeting your efforts. Certain social networking sites are stronger in certain demographics than others, and a little research can help insure that you achieve the greatest impact with the smallest effort. Fins out where your target audience is and focus your efforts there, don’t waste your time elsewhere no matter how popular other sites may seem from the outside.

Step 2) Be consistent with your image and your message.

Before you jump into the social networking ocean, stop to consider what message you want to send out to your customers and then commit to it. Once you decide on a message, and establish an identity make sure that all of your social networking activities underscore and support that message. Every photo, blog or bookmark that you post should be consistent with that identity. It takes a great time and care to build trust in a social network setting, and consistency is the key to building trust.

Step 3) Proactively produce and post quality content.

A successful social network marketing campaign is a proactive one. Serious social networkers thrive off of a constant stream of fresh information. If your networking presence gets stale (or non-existent), your social networking contacts will quickly lose interest.

Post and update your social networking profiles regularly. Be sure to interact personally and candidly with your contacts. Your target market who interact in the social networks don’t want impersonal or generic content, so give them what they do want.

With a little time and effort and / or effective outsourcing, social networking/marketing can be an excellent way to build your brand, gain exposure for your products, and build your customer base. If you do it smart (i.e. no spamming) then your efforts can produce excellent long-term benefits for your business.

Here’s a new video put out by Charles Heflin of SocialMediaScience.com that talks about the importance of outsourcing your ‘off site’ marketing so you can get back to focusing on the real business stuff (i.e. selling) and how you can use powerful, cutting edge social networking software to literally do 90% of the work.

This is very exciting technology that is changing the face of Internet Marketing (especially SEO and Social Networking) as we speak!