With the sudden flood of social media marketing expert consultant authors out there on the global Internet these days, you might be wondering how to stand out from the crowd.

Well, don’t worry, we’re here to help!

Here are five tips for cultivating an affable online social media expert persona on the social web.

1. Be sincere. A rapier wit, a keen sense of irony (or even a general sense of humour!) might score you points at fancy dinner parties, but they will get you nowhere in the world of social network media marketing. Jokes can offend or annoy, and the last thing a social media marketing expert wants to be is offensive or annoying. Remember: it is impossible to take yourself (or social media!) too seriously.

2. Be positive! Your twitterfans would much rather hear about the latest tips and tricks for online marketing business than  sad news from Gaza or one of those other war places. If you need to break up your stream of killer strategies and Mashable links with something, try retweeting something from the human interest section of your city’s online newspaper’s twitter feed. The only exception is if, say, an extremely important person from the social media technologies business world dies, resigns, or falls ill – because that could affect tech stock prices and gadget design, so it has relevance. And don’t forget to add plenty of exclamation marks and smiley faces to your feel-good tweets! :)

3. Demonstrate family values. In your twitter profile, do you focus on your own selfish and possibly effeminate interests (if you’re a guy, and I’m assuming you are!), or do you represent yourself more neutrally, as part of the global American Family? Let me give you an illustration based on two apparently similar but actually very different Twitter profiles. One social media expert consultant (let’s call him Gavin) describes himself as a “ne’er-do-well with a weakness for indie pop, the works of Immanuel Kant and a well-made martini.”  Can you see how he’s alienating his potential audience with obscure cultural references and non-positive humour? A second contender (let’s call him Dick) uses his character limit more productively, describing himself as a “SEO, marketing junkie, web designer, social media expert, father of two, Christian, and keen hiker.” Dick is clearly both an expert in the web and a stolidly heterosexual white American Dad with a healthy appreciation of nature – and we all know how Green nature is! Dick appeals to everyone. Gavin, on the other hand…well, let me just ask you: Which one of these two social media expert consultants are you going to trust with YOUR business??

4. Be a follower, not a leader. That sounds back-to-front, right? Well, it’s not! On Twitter, autofollow everyone who follows you as well as those whose profiles match your chosen keywords (hints: social media, marketing, SEO). And don’t forget to follow up by welcoming your audience to the conversation: @reply every new follower, without exception. The content doesn’t matter, the @reply is what counts.Most importantly, re-tweet everything the Twitter Elite like Guy Kawasaki or Robert Scoble say – do it twice if you can take time out from invoicing clients!

A word of warning, though – you don’t want to follow everyone who becomes your Twitter fan and follows you (and there will be plenty, trust me!). There are a lot of people who twitter the old-fashioned, heritage media way – using their 140 characters to express their feelings, describe where they are, review a film, or connect with RL friends. Don’t get sucked in! Remember your focus is social media marketing; only connect with people who have the same interests as you! That way, like-minded social media marketing expert twitterers are more likely to follow you back. Everything else is just noise.

5. Appeal to everybody. Remember, when you get right down to it, everybody is the same. If they aren’t, they probably aren’t your core business. They may not even be in your country! Remember your core values: community, connection, and conservatism. If it worked for Amway, it can work for YOU.

How do YOU cultivate an affable online social media expert persona?