Is it time to focus and create art or research social media networking for hours? :)

Earning "raving fans" on Twitter by sharing tips, insights, links, and resources is a way to earn a place in the hearts and minds of those who can one day take their place as raving fans of your business.

Twitter should be added to daily PR and marketing activities because when used wisely, Twitter can help build and enhance relationships over time. After all, without relationships, there are no customers.

Twitter and other social networking sites such as Biznik, Linkedin, and Facebook are not going away.

Everyone serious about doing business should learn the nuts and bolts of these tools and integrate their efforts into their other consistent, passionate, and tenacious marketing and publicity plans.

John Kremer just wrote a Twitter Mania Manual that offers 126 ways to Tweet that is very comprehensive and useful. You can access this free gift from his website at www.johnkremer.com

I read it this morning and found it to be very helpful in many ways. I even Re-Tweeted it to my followers at www.twitter.com/nancyjuetten.

And, if you are wondering how much time this all takes, consider this sound bite heard at a recent meeting of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, "Social networking isn't a job. It's a lifestyle."

Whether you agree or disagree, social networking is here to stay. Either you splash around a bit to learn and apply the essentials, you become a master at it, or you sit out. It's a choice.

Depending upon your business needs, you do the right thing to serve your ultimate prosperity among your ideal customers/clients.

My advice is to balance social networking with other "tried and true" publicity efforts. The last thing you want to do is invest big bucks and big time in any activity that isn't shown to deliver meaningful results, quality relationships, and favorable buzz for your business.

Activity and entertainment are not to be substituted for purposeful, results-generating actions. No matter what strategies and tactics you employ to build buzz for the business, there aren't many "try it once, get all the success you crave" solutions.

The key is passionate, tenacious, consistent actions taken every day to reach your goals.

And, no matter how many people Tweet about you or your business, how often you Tweet to serve others, or how many folks read your daily blog, there is nothing quite like a feature story in the New York Times to earn attention. The new movie "Julie and Julia" puts that fact in clear focus!

So that is my two cents on social media networking.

To your success!

Nancy