Searching through the blogosphere, I came across Paul Chaney’s latest post on Conversational Media Marketing. Here, Paul gives this example of what not to do when using social media marketing:

Hello Paul, ____________ here from _________,Va, and I would like to connect to you as a business connection. Also would you be open minded to hearing about a business if it could potentially add substantially to your income, without jeopardizing what you do now?

In this LinkedIn request, notice that the pitch is made before an actual relationship is established. What’s the result of this? Most likely the invitation to connect will be declined. Paul also makes the point that marketers must build rapport with users and find out what they are interested in.

Social media marketing in communities takes time, as trusted relationships must be built before a community member will listen to your pitch. Think about this cardinal rule before you deploy a social media campaign in your business.