Social networks have quite sneakily cemented themselves as part of everyone’s lives. The usual reluctance of people to embrace new things by the general public, making something take a few years to be a thing just didn’t happen for most. But, admittedly, when asked for social media marketing tips, I kind of cringe, because I was a rare exception to that eager adoption. Why am I Hating: Oh, I’m not. The only true ire I get out of social networks is in fact how much they’re pushed by everything else. Every page of every website is choked with a thousand social network buttons. Every service I make an account with forces a social network account with it (bad Google!). But honestly, I wasn’t an eager adopter of this sort of thing because on a personal basis, I never needed it. Honestly, I never cared to get in touch with long lost classmates, and all my friends and family have more direct ways of contacting me. But, after a few years, this concept showed itself as potentially powerful for business tasks like marketing and promotion, as well as customer service. Well, that’s when I obtained working knowledge of a few of the bigger networks. Networks to Try: Well, first, of the ones I’ve tried, let me recommend a few. Twitter I recommend this one all the time, and it’s usually the first one I mention when I allude to social networks in marketing and business. This is because it’s frikkin’ easy to use, it’s not convoluted with excessive features, and it keeps annoying people from being as annoying as they can be on other networks. Tumblr This is the other one you’ve undoubtedly seen me show a shine for. Tumblr is a lot like Twitter in the straightforward, no nonsense regard. But where Twitter is for sharing small thoughts, simple statements and linked media, Tumblr is a place to publish. YouTube Yes, YouTube is, among other things, a social network unto itself. Video marketing or affiliate marketing with others’ channels is brilliant as long as it’s not via preroll ads or commercial interruptions. Don’t Waste your Time: In many lists of social media marketing tips, you see a lot of ado about a couple social networks that, honestly, while populous are not at all useful to do anything constructive. Be it poor design or just not a useful concept, here are ones I say don’t bloody bother with. Facebook Now don’t throw tomatoes at me yet! I know Facebook deserves respect for being the system that really finally kickstarted the social movement and also served as a vehicle to drive digital adoption by many more people. But, it sucks. It’s a tangled mess of redundant and confusing features, no focus in format or media affinity, and it’s always bursting at the seams with drama. Reddit I’ll say only this. The moment someone can explain to me how there’s remotely a point to this absurd thing, I’ll redact it from this list. I foresee a long future of this entry being here. Basic Practice: The basic practice aside from traditional use of content marketing and promotional statements, is to form a connection with your demographic directly. Be another online buddy they can talk to and who shows interest in their opinions. Conclusion: When it comes to social media marketing tips, I’m still a little green about how to get the most out of it, most likely. I’ve used the services I recommended to positive success, but there are probably more tactics and a few more genuinely useful sites. But, it seems to be all about knowing what sites have a genuine use.