I never cease to be amazed by the fascinating virtual world and as someone who spends a lot of time in it I sometimes wonder if it’s taking over my reality!

It was easy to turn my nose up at vampire games and FarmVille; I mean they are not for serious business owners, right?

Then along comes Empire Avenue and I was addicted on the very first day! The good news is that using this new social media site you can measure, track and build your social influence so it’s actually a good investment of your time.

It’s becoming more and more challenging with the thousands of online options vying for your attention to decide where indeed you should be spending your time for best return on it.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Empire Avenue and oh so many more… Where do you get started?

I’m fortunate as I got ahead of this curve and established myself on the main networks before most people took them seriously so it makes it easier to just add in a new one now and then.

I resist adding in more social media sites into my social media strategy unless I really see the benefit because unless you invest some time each day or week into engaging with your potential clients on these sites, they will not be very valuable to you.

So what can you do to avoid falling into the trap of spending hours on social media and just wasting your valuable business and marketing time?

You need to get organised and have a social media strategy. Yes there will be days where you are enthused, it all comes easy and you do more than others.

On the other hand you need a bottom line so that even on your uninspired days you are building your influence with social media and this is what is known as your ‘social media strategy.’

The biggest mistake I see amateurs make is spending lots of time chatting and networking on social media without first creating their client or customer converting marketing funnel. When you meet somebody new on Empire Avenue or Twitter, or your perfect client discovers you online, they need to be able to find out enough about you in a couple of seconds to arouse their curiosity and feel compelled to leave you their contact details.

How does this happen? You set up your marketing funnel: Capture Page and free giveaway (special report or other valuable information) tantalisingly in place for them to simply click on and complete a form. Next thing they know you are in their inbox and claiming a tiny little space in their life. If you don’t have this in place and they click away, you will probably never bump into them again.

What I recommend instead is that whilst you build your social media empire you ensure that your internet empire and marketing foundation is in place first to catch your hot prospects.

Capturing your ideal clients’ or customers imagination is easy when you have your marketing funnel, marketing game plan and social media strategy in place.

If you don’t have all these clear in your mind and on paper, you really do risk burning truck loads of your precious time on social media with nothing to show for it but a lot of ‘nice friends.’

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rachel Henke shares the secrets of becoming an expert in your niche to attract perfect clients, publicity & opportunities. For more expert secrets visit: Insider Secrets Report