While mainstream use of Social Networks is only a few years old, it is well known how consumers use them. Besides, a few years is a generation in Internet parlance anyway.

Here are 7 truths of Social Networks that you can / must rely upon to help guide your thinking regardless of what you do with Social Media.

1. Social Networks is the preferred way for people in younger demographics to communicate with each other. Nothing else comes close!

2. It is based on the concept of friends, but that term today is very loosely applied. Similarly, profiles are loosely defined & can be used in a variety of ways by people, companies, brands, & so on.

3. The more active a consumer is on the internet, the more likely they will participate in multiple Social Networks. Often times, these people are influencers within a circle of friends & have a tremendous impact on the opinions of others.

4. Once information is shared on a Social Network, it is out there & can’t easily be contained. Everything is out in the open & largely visible for other people to see.

5. Social Media is best applied in addition to existing internet marketing programs & alongside other web assets. When building a strategy, you must think comprehensively.

6. The rules are still being made. Social network “etiquette” is still relatively immature. Tread carefully.

7. The seventh & final truth involves the factors that contribute to usage. Everyone is motivated by a combination of one or more of the following human needs:

Love: Finding love, keeping up with loved ones, & so forth.

Self expression / Emotion: Sharing life’s’ details with friends.

Sharing opinion / Influencing friends: Using these Networks as a platform for influencing opinions, usually about politics, religion, or other things we don’t typically debate in person.

Showing off: Sharing life’s success & / or achievements with others.

Fun / Escapism / Humor: Using social media to get a good laugh.

Memories & Nostalgia: Catching up with old friends & sharing old friends.

Making Money: Using social media primarily to support professional pursuits.

From the above, one can infer that the motivation for using Facebook varies significantly depending on your customer. No Social Media can match Facebook’s current momentum or broad international customer adoption. It hosts a range of Social applications and has been the market leader in Social Media since April 2008.

Facebook Marketing is integral to online social marketing – in that, a very key component of Internet Marketing!

Around the world, tens of millions of people each year search for a home based business opportunity that will either free them from a job they hate, allow them to retire early, give them more time to spend with their family, divert their poorly performing investment portfolio into a profit generating magnet, or all of the above. Just as there are vast differences of opinion, even amongst friends, there are vast differences in business opportunities. Before you start on your due diligence when hunting for that one home based business opportunity that is right for you, take a moment to understand some differences in business models, their expectations, their commission structure, your current resources, and your personality.

The definite guide to choosing the right home based business opportunity simply boils down to the questions you ask yourself before you start your search. Understanding your goals for success, and how your perceive a home based business to get you there, will have a profound impact on your decision making process. In fact, knowing what you need ahead of time will make the process go much more smoothly, allowing you to weed out unsatisfactory business opportunities rapidly.

Note: There are no specific businesses listed in this article so your use of this guide is not hindered by a constant sales pitch. If you would like to discuss specific ideas, please contact the author within the profile area where you read this article.

The following lists distinctive aspects of a home based business that you should consider:

1. Primary Prospecting Source: Internet, Phone, or Direct Mail

If you have a product you created or a service you perform very well, the internet is the best place to market it to prospects. You can even use the internet as your foundation (or hub) and incorporate aspects of phone and direct mail to round out your reach if you have a system in place to do so (or family/friends willing to help).

If you do not have your own product or service, you can choose to sell someone else’s material (ClickBank, Ebay, Amazon, etc.) or get involved in an online business opportunity that matches your personality from introvert (MLM, matrix, etc.) to social butterfly (direct sales, success coaching, social marketing, etc.). The internet is uniquely positioned to reach over 1.5 billion people in over 150 different countries. You can choose to go after the impulse shopper by saturating the free classifieds areas, or you can choose to slowly win the trust of your big spenders through social media, personal branding, lead filters, and auto-responders. If you have a lot of money to start and can spend $300 per day, then you can jump right in with your own Google AdWords campaign, where the vast majority of successful internet entrepreneurs advertise. But if you are operating on a very limited budget, you may want to start on the free and very effective social marketing path until you can slowly transition from free to paid advertising.

There are positives and negatives to all the business models that support any particular internet marketing path, so be sure to follow this simple rule: The positives should match closest to your personality while the negatives should be the opposite of your personality.