Yesterday, I offered some Twitter tips that can help your home business. However, while it is important to recognize that social networking can be a valuable tool, it is also important to realize that it is only effective if it is real networking. Vered, over at MomGrind, offers this insightful comment about social media and networking:

The next time you fret about being “unpopular,” or about having less followers than others you see around you, stop and think for a moment: if you have formed real connections with a handful of people through social networking, you are using this tool correctly. But if you have thousands of followers, who are at best a collection of meaningless faces and broken sentences, and often place an overwhelming demand on your time, you are simply allowing fake networking to seduce you. There’s absolutely no value in that, business or personal.

She’s pretty much hit the nail on the head. Effective social media marketing is not about racking up thousands of meaningless followers. It’s about providing value and making solid connections with a few people who can actually help you enhance your home business. Figure out where you are most likely to accomplish this, and then focus on those social media sites, building up a solid profile. Vered also provided this helpful video focusing on Seth Godin. Great stuff!