It’s the biggest trend in social media right now: Buying Fans, Friends and Followers to make your “sphere of influence” on the internet APPEAR to be bigger than it really is. Bigger is better, right? Not necessarily. In fact, my very strong opinions on this were just featured in a Washington Post article. I’ll show you 5 reasons why BUYING friends is a BAD idea.

Recently I was featured in the Huffington Post talking about FourSquare and how businesses can use this social media platform to get customers in the door. What is this FourSquare? How can you strategically use it for business?

If you’re not quite Kim Kardashian or Zappos but you’re getting friend requests from people you don’t really know… then you’re in good company. I’m guessing millions of us who use Facebook have outgrown our Profiles, but it still feel a little silly to have a Fan Page. That’s what makes the latest Facebook news about “Subscribers” so exciting. It’s more genuine than a Fan Page, but you can truly limit your “friends” to people you truly know while still making all kinds of new connections. It may sound confusing, but it’s not. This is why I like social media strategy. But when it comes to social media, it’s not one-size-fits-all for differently individuals, brands and businesses. Here’s yet another way you might be able to customize it for your needs.