We've all heard plenty about social networks in the past few years. In fact it seems as though everything has a social networking component these days, but the fact is we all need to know how to leverage these sites if we expect to be successful professionally (or personally) online. But, it's not as easy as signing up and spewing one long sales pitch. When you leverage social networking for business or marketing purposes, it can be a little bit more nuanced than that.

When you choose to join a social network as a marketing tool, you want to keep a few things in mind. There are millions of people on every social networking site and they won't pay attention to you if they don't think there is something in it for them. Below are seven simple social networking tips that I use, courtesy of respected business coach and Internet Marketer Terry Houwerzyl, which you too can use to build your online business more effectively.

• Have something to say – As stated earlier, your social networking strategy should be more than a sales pitch. Choose an area of focus, link to current events and offer tips or advice to illustrate your expertise in your chosen niche. These things are useful to people and they will come back to read more of what you have to say.

• Be part of the community – Social networking is a give and take. If you expect others to be part of your network, you need to be part of theirs. Comment on things, repost and share what you like. People like it when their updates are picked up by others and will respond in kind.

• Keep it professional – While your favourite social network site may refer to those in your network as “friends,” they are not. You should keep your personal and business social networking accounts separate.

• Update regularly – The great thing about social networking sites is that you can share a link to a news story or another site and call it an update. Don't get bogged down in too much content or you won't update regularly.

• Don't take it personally – If someone says something you don't like, ignore it. Your social network presence is an extension of your personal brand and you want to maintain a stellar image. Report anything intensely inflammatory but do so behind the scenes.

• Find your niche – Whether you choose to focus on a specific market segment or product, you will achieve the greatest success (and the largest audiences) if you find your niche rather than speaking broadly on a topic.

• Tag everything – Whenever you can optimise something for Web searches on a social networking site, do so. Tag blog posts with appropriate keywords, link back to your site and add an auto signature to your comments.

Social networks are an integral part of your overall marketing strategy. They offer low-cost, high-visibility campaigns with proven success. As you leverage them as part of your own marketing strategy, always remember that these are marketing tools.

With that in mind, every word should be as cautiously chosen as it would be for a brochure, newsletter or Web site. While the vehicles may have changed over the years, the message must still remain consistent. Your social networking strategy will yield far greater returns and increase traffic more effectively when you choose one message, one voice and one target audience.

To learn more about Social Networking Tactics as well as the complete online income formula, sign-up today, it's free and requires only your name and email address.

Paul Graham

Paul Graham Blog.com