Interview with Muhammad Saleem – Social Media Maven

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On a daily basis there is a new social media site created. There is basically a site for every person from every background. We spoke with Muhammad Saleem, social media maven, about his opinion about a variety of sites, social media marketing and the most important elements to keep in mind when engaging in the space.

In our discussion about the major social sites like Digg, StumbleUpon and Twitter, we were able to establish the key steps towards establishing prominence online. Participating, contributing and becoming an intregral part of the community are the main ways to develop the personal brand that Muhammad has been able to establish for himself.

MH: Could you please give us a brief introduction on what you do for those of us who might not be familiar?

msaleem: I’m a social media consultant. That can mean anything from conducting a workshop on the business uses of social media to helping people with content and product development. I spend most of my time on different social media sites, either participating on them or studying them.

MH: Social Media Marketing. What are the possibilities?

msaleem: I think the possibilities are endless. Traditional methods of marketing are becoming obsolete and are being replaced by social media marketing which relies much more on information and relationships rather than brute force. As long as you find the right community and use the proper etiquette, there should be no problem in marketing your content, product, or service to a social media community.

MH: You are an active Digg user. How did you become an active user and what was your strategy on establishing yourself as a power user?

msaleem: I started using the site purely for fun. Once I got on the homepage a few times I really got addicted to the site. There’s something rewarding about being able to share the content you feel passionate about with thousands of other people. As for becoming a ‘power user’ I think the Social Media Manual should be a good place to start.

MH: What do you think of the recent Digg algorithm change? Why do you think Digg implemented this change?

msaleem: I think the recent algorithm change is doing more harm than good. In fact from the looks of it, it’s doing only harm. If you look at the numbers here, you will see that the popularity of the stories on the home page has decreased drastically. I don’t understand why Digg would want to decrease engagement on their site.

MH: How can a business use Social Media to build influential contacts and network?

msaleem: Oh boy. That’s a loaded question. Businesses need to understand that the online landscape has changed and they need to adapt accordingly. What services are most applicable to them will vary. For example, print subscriptions for magazines are going down but online readership is increasing so they need to move online and start using sites like Digg, Propeller, StumbleUpon and so forth.

MH: If you had to choose one which would it be – Digg or StumbleUpon and Why?

msaleem: If I had to choose, it would be StumbleUpon. The community there is much nicer, friendlier, and more mature. Plus StumbleUpon’s founders don’t actively handicap their core userbase.

MH: What other SM sites are you active on? Would you mind leaving your profile URL for our readers?

msaleem: I’m on Digg, Propeller, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Mixx, Twitter, and a few others. The links to all of them can be found on my site in the sidebar.

MH: Twitter. What do you think of it as a networking and promotional tool and why?

msaleem: I think Twitter is absolutely brilliant in many respects. It is an incredibly efficient social networking and content sharing tool, and is equally as good as a broadcast medium. I think the biggest reason people dislike Twitter is because they’re following the wrong people and the wrong conversations. The only thing Twitter doesn’t do well right now is filtering the noise.

MH: Any Social Media marketing advice you would like to share with our readers?

msaleem: Social media is above all about relationships and community. Be genuine and be transparent. Build relationships and help others.

Thank you Muhammad for taking the time to answer some of our questions.

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