Social media is not for people who want to get rich fast nor is it a competition. There is no short cut to using social media. Social media is another powerful tool to help you build genuine, quality, and long-term relationships. It is NOT about the quantity of friends or likers you have. If you are using social networking sites to increase the visibility of your business, the concept is very simple. Think of it as taking your offline networking online.

When you are at a networking event, you connect with people and try to build relationships. Then once you establish credibility, you may try to introduce people to your products and services. And, if you have given enough value, you will automatically attract your ideal clients. Well, the same rules apply to social networking. It is truly as simple as that! No need to reinvent the wheel.

When trying to build your likers and followers on social networking sites, you must think about your target audience and not how many followers you are going to have by the end of the month. For example, imagine you sell steaks. They might be the juiciest, tastiest steaks in the world, but if you try to sell them at a raw food convention where there are thousands of people, guess what? No one will buy! That’s what it’s like when you gather 20,000 people through random methods just to get followers on whatever social network you are targeting. I guarantee that this approach will not get you the results you are looking for and will not increase your business in any shape or form.

Now, imagine you take these amazing steaks to a meat-lovers convention. Do you think these people might be interested in your food? I bet you’d sell out in no time! Keep this in mind when you are finding followers on Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon or any other social network. You need to focus on targeted followers — the ones who appreciate the value you provide and are interested in what you have to offer.

In summary, social media isn’t a competition to see how popular you are . . . unless that happens to be your sole purpose (But, why would it be?). However, if you are there to increase the visibility of your business, you need to start looking at things differently. Quality follower or likers will make all the difference in your bottom line!

Follow these 12 social media tips and see the difference it makes in your business:

1. Have a strategy
2. Use listening skills
3. Provide value
4. Build credibility/rapport
5. Be genuine/honest
6. Be conversational
7. Be interesting/amusing
8. Be creative (think outside the box)
9. Be consistent
10. Use proper etiquette
11. Be patient
12. Most importantly, have fun!

Am I missing any schemes?  Please list any hype that you have seen or received in the comments section below .  This will help educate others and prevent them from making costly mistakes.