My new BFF the REAL Martha Stewart is following me! Now what?

My reaction: Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…Martha Stewart is following me! The REAL Martha Stewart! Within minutes of this monumental occasion, images of me joining her on THE Martha Stewart Show to sample her festive recipes and prune tiny trees into artful centerpieces danced through my head.

Martha Stewart is my new BFF – online and soon-to-be IRL!

“Carla, don’t you just love the way the brown sugar glaze turns these ordinary pears into a delightful dessert?”

“Why yes, Martha, and you made it all so easy! I’m going to go home and prune my rose bush right after I plant one.”

Wake up and smell the dying rose bushes! Follower does not mean friend – online or anywhere else. And the number one social media mistake you can make is overstepping the social media boundaries and forgetting all sense of social grace.

The opportunity begins with the follow, but it’s just the beginning. Next comes the part where you build the relationship with a celebrity, VIP or anyone else in social media. So now what?

How about: So now what NOT?

#1: Do NOT in no uncertain terms violate the Direct Message inbox – Turn off the cutesy “Hi , I’m so delighted you followed me. Please accept my gift of this free YUCK” and avoid the temptation to send the manual gushing “Martha I adore you and absolutely everything you do…blah, blah, blah” fan spam. Barf.

#2: Don’t blast her with an @MarthaStewart reply with the link to the latest post that you are just dying for her to read and retweet. In fact, don’t send her any @ replies or mentions until you have done your homework (more on that in a minute).

#3: Forget about sucking up by retweeting her incessantly – The lady has almost 2 million followers. What is your retweet going to do for her? Put the autoretweet back in your pocket.

So now what? How do you engage with VIP’s in social media?

#1: Lurk before you leap – If you want to engage with @MarthaStewart, you need to follow Martha Stewart, read Martha Stewart, and understand Martha Stewart.

#2: Watch for THE opportunity – You will know it when you see it. If @MarthaStewart asks a question that you have an answer to, respond. If @MarthaStewart is trying to raise awareness for her favorite cause, retweet and engage.

#3: Wait for the relationship to grow – From that opportunity (and there likely needs to be more than one), you have a chance to make an impression. Let @MarthaStewart engage with you and move the relationship to the next level – the DM correspondence.

What does this mean for your new VIP follower that you can’t wait to build a relationship with? It likely means that 6 months, 9 months, even a year from now, you could be stepping into a new relationship with someone you may never have had access to before.

Will it be @MarthaStewart? Probably not. But it could be a journalist with the New York Times, a senior editor from Random House, a bestselling author in your field? Chances are good. And respecting them and how you build a relationship with them will make all the difference.

Want to know more about how to engage in social media, check out our new Social Media for Moms: Twitter course in the MOMeo e-Learning Campus!