By pigeon-holing your customer base, you’re denying yourself the ability to have greater appeal, deeper brand loyalty, and ultimately a better bottom line. By telling them where they can find you, and expecting them to do so, may have worked in the ultra-luxury we experienced before the crash — but it doesn’t apply now.

Have you had any interactions where your friendships were questioned? Have you questioned someone’s friendships? Were you able to rise above, or did you let your selfish motivations get the better of you?

I’ve run into a few common misconceptions from people who are trying to delve into the world on social media marketing.

If I were to suggest guidelines for consumers in this online age, it would be similar to those I would suggest to anyone looking for love.

Trust, loyalty, and support come from repeated positive experiences that result in an educated judgment call by the consumer that the product, and the business behind it, are trust-worthy, and as a result, worthy of their hard-earned cash.

If you’re wondering about ROI for properly implemented social media…hope this helps put a more concrete picture in your mind as to how it can work for you.

If you work the system correctly, you, your company, and your brand will be the best known entity for whatever it is that you’re providing or selling.

Be part of the romance of social networking. Help them fall for you — and they’ll follow you wherever you go.

The minute YOU become emotionally attached to someone, they feel comfortable opening up to you. And the minute you ALLOW someone to become emotionally attached to you, they becomes slightly loyal.

What wrong would it do if companies stopped trying to push each other off of the hill, and instead concentrated on how to make their product the best available? What if companies stopped spending half of their time talking about another company’s product? The community can do the comparisons for you.