For all of the interpersonal discussion that surrounds social media, the core itself seems strangely devoid of any real person-to-person interaction. One comment I hear from clients again and again is, “how do I rise above the noise?”

The internet, and specifically the rise of social media, has made it even easier for folks to pursue ruthless ambition to succeed online. Blogging isn’t a major financial draw for most people, but “getting rich blogging” is certainly a goal that shines bright on far too many people’s annual resolutions. The rat race, a phenomenon that social media is supposed to avoid, has merely moved online, with everyone desperately competing to end up one follower ahead, one blog comment up from their competitors, with online bragging rights as the primary (if not sole) payoff.

If you want to utilize social media responsibly, working out who’s worth it and who isn’t should be one of your first priorities. These tips can help you navigate the waters and distinguish the masters from the wannabes, and should form the basis of your online contact strategy.

It’s not just about numbers.
Some of the world’s biggest spammers have hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter, while there are bestselling authors that may only have a couple hundred. The numbers don’t tell the whole story, and they shouldn’t be your sole basis for determining influence. This is a strategy that’s sure to end in disappointment and frustration. Instead, look for traffic that’s valuable – the type of readers and followers that take action, rather than the type that merely skim the content and move on. Further, you should focus on engaging those followers by being genuine in your communications, showing interest in others, and providing content of value.

Self promotion knows no bounds online.
A major part of online success is being able to see through the smoke and mirrors that many personalities put up around themselves. With the internet making anonymity and disguise so simple, many people set up illusions that simply aren’t themselves. I like to compare this to the classic 70s game show, “The Dating Game.” It’s easy to sit behind the partition and try to impress the “contestant” with how charming and clever you are. But sooner or later, they will step around the partition — that’s the moment of truth. Will they be surprised with what they find?

If you want a true indicator of someone, contact them directly, and try to look through the self promotion that’s often visible in tweets and blog posts.

Thought leaders often dominate traffic leaders.
Blogger and author Tim Ferriss made this distinction during an internet conference. The online writers with the most readers aren’t always the most powerful, or even the most valuable. Those that have the most powerful audience are always the most powerful. Think about it this way: if you were marketing B2B products, which audience would you prefer? 10,000 regular consumers, or an audience of 100 CEOs of top firms, each with a massive budget for inter-company products. Pick the audience by strength, not just by size.

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