Tip #1: Host Facebook Live Events

To add great value and give your fans a different way to interact with you, occasionally offer live chat sessions, teleseminars, and webinars. Mari Smith and her friend Chris Treadaway held what they called a “flash chat” as a way to share content for a book.

They used the Linqto webinar platform that allowed people to interact with them while the presenters used a webcam to take turns on the floor. The interaction of the participants was carried out through chat.

If you don’t have that kind of technical knowledge, you can keep things simple by doing a simple Q&A on your Facebook page wall.

Tip #2: Be willing to help the less famous

The best way to build your personal brand is to involve other people in the process. Do your best to help others and give them credit for the amazing work they do. Although it seems like a lot of work, in the long run it is worth it. On top of that, as Erik Qualman says in his book Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business, “It’s the right thing to do.”

Easy ways to help other people include tweeting their work and leaving great comments on their blogs.

Don’t just direct your help towards the most important people; They get a lot of love and attention. You will really stand out if you help those who have great potential but are not yet well known.

Tip #3: Don’t Overemphasize Marketing

Remember, social media marketing is…social. Heading straight into marketing without spending the proper amount of time on the social part of social media marketing is detrimental. There are certain expectations within social networks, and one of the main expectations is the community. “Too often, these expectations don’t include having marketing messages stuck down their throats,” writes Hollis Thomases in Marketing on Twitter: one hour a day.

Tip #4: Find out what your customers want

Brian Solis Engage: The Complete Guide to Building, Cultivating, and Measuring Success on the Social Web he writes, “…my best advice to you is to find out what your opportunity is first.” He suggests using the Research tool to get more information on his prospects.

Tip #5: Meet people offline

It is a natural tendency to go online for information and even for friendships and networks. While the Internet is a great place for these things, there’s no substitute for face-to-face time with other people.

Steve Garfield writes in Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Build Your Business about the importance of mingling with others in an environment where everyone is welcome.

Tip #6: Share expert knowledge with your readers

Find the experts in your industry and offer to interview them about your newest product. Ask them lots of questions whose answers you know your audience will want to know. According to Michael Stelzner, the founder of Social Media Examiner, this is a great way to not only build a strong relationship with the expert, but also provide highly valuable content for your audience.

Tip #7: Be controversial

Dean Hunt writes, “…here’s a strategy I created to ensure your content will get noticed…In fact, people will double-click when they see the headline of your content and won’t be able to resist reading it.” I call it the ‘negative tilt’. It’s very simple to do and works best with instructional or informational content.”

As an example, he gives the title of a blog post he recently wrote, “How to Work Too Hard and Make No Money.” The negative spin on the title created shock value and helped make it a huge success.