“I have a Facebook page.  My sister told me this is all I need in order to make LOTS of money from the internet.”  If I had a nickel for everytime I heard this, I’d have retired young by now.

Don’t get me wrong.  Facebook can be a valuable part of your internet strategy.  (Heck I might even sign up one of these days.)  But if you truly want to be found on the internet by more than your friends and family, I’m going to recommend you reach a little further.  This chart is the best explanation I’ve found so far to show how things fit.  I’ve lost the info on the source, so if you know, please let me know so I can give credit where its due.

What it explains is that Facebook and other social media (Twitter, Linked In, etc.) make up the top of your pyramid – kind of like the sweets in your grade school food pyramid.  It’s fun, it tastes really good, but too much will give you an upset stomach.  In this case, the crumblies come from too high of expectations.

Facebook may be the best (more…)

or Facebook, Twitter, whatever.  Soon the blank will be filled in by Foursquare.  I hear this all the time, particularly from small business owners, and particularly from small business owners that are struggling to make it just now.

I’m not here to bash any of these sites.  They have helped to provide an unmatched way for you to stay in touch with your existing customers.  Heck, I even use them myself.  OK, not My Space but maybe it will come back around.

But that’s the limitation with any of these.  Unless you have really, really compelling content to share with people, your friends just won’t spend a lot of energy recommending you to their friends.  Which means that you can’t count on these platforms as your only method of reaching out to the rest of the world.

So let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the (more…)