*This is a guest post from Ben Johnson. You can find Ben on Twitter as @logoinn* Most people want to succeed and create their success story online overnight. There is no doubt that you can indeed make millions of dollars on the internet in just one day, but, prior to achieving this goal, you have to do some hard work for it.

Social Networking and Patience:

We all have heard how powerful online Social Networking is and how it’s helping small businesses grow bigger. Consequently, we also want a piece of it and enjoy tremendous growth, but we need to realize that those small businesses put in efforts earlier to reap the benefits today.

The Importance of Online Social Networking:

Social Networking allows you to stay in touch with your regular and potential customers on a regular basis. The best part is that it’s a free way of effective and timely communication. Therefore, you must strive to get the best out of it. Small businesses can give personal attention and provide better customer support to their market, as compared to large organizations, due to their smaller customer-base.

Now…I am going to share 5 powerful tips that will help you succeed in social networking and enable you to build your business image in an effective way:

1) Tell Your Network of Friends that You are Human, Not Machine:

Let’s say you are out with some friends, talking, joking around and having fun. One of your friends is quiet, but whenever he says something, it’s always about his business and products. No matter what you guys talk about, he will say something about discounts and new promotions.

Will you talk to such a friend or ignore him completely? You will, of course, stop talking to him.

The same thing happens when you use social networks and only post links to promote your business, products and services. Such behavior makes other think that you are a machine who only cares about posting links and promoting products. So, they begin to ignore you.

2) Tell Your Network that You Listen and Care:

Now, after ensuring that you are not labeled as a spammer, you need to start mingling with people. When someone posts something nice, make sure you check it and acknowledge it. When you care about people in your network, they begin to care about you too and take notice of what you say.

So, get involved in conversations. When someone posts a picture, do take the time to leave your comments.

3) Share Valuable Stuff with Your Friends:

Observe what sort of information your friends share. If you see some people posting jokes, then you should also do it. When they see it, they will leave comments and you will have a way to interact with them.

4) Answer Questions in Your Own Words:

When someone asks a question, try to answer it in your own words. Avoid copying any information from other websites. Even if you do copy something, mention the source in your response as well. When you give personal attention to your friends, they will also do the same for you.

5) Post Offers in a Decent and Personalized Way:

Now, it’s about time you offer something to your network. However, when you post an offer, make sure you write a personalized message. Share how your offer will be beneficial. Ensure that your tone is friendly and casual. Your message shouldn’t look like a formal essay.

So…Here is What We Learn from These Tips and Tricks:

What we learn from all these tips and tricks is that after you create an account on a social networking site and add friends, don’t just fill their mailbox or wall with your offers. If they think of you as a spammer, you will ruin the image of your business. So, win the heart of your network slowly and gradually with the tips mentioned above. Once done, they will sincerely take interest in your offers and recommend you to their family and friends as well.

About the author

Ben Johnson is the Alliance Manager at Logoinn, a custom logo design company. He writes about the effect of design on marketing and brand identity and helps small businesses find design solutions for effective marketing.