Social Networking, Part One
Social Networking is a rather new phenomenon in the internet world, but an excellent way to market your business. Having your products or websites “talked about” on a social networking site or group is taking ‘word of mouth’ advertising to a hundred-fold level!
There are numerous networking sites, bookmarking sites, and group/membership sites that you can use, but I am going to limit my discussion on the following:
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Squidoo (not really sure if this fits into the social networking definition)
Facebook is probably the most popular social networking site on the internet. MySpace, which is similar to Facebook, held the #1 spot for a long time until the baby boomers took over Facebook and knocked MySpace (who appeals to the younger folks) out of their spot. If you like interfacing with a ‘group’ of friends and acquaintances, you will enjoy Facebook and/or MySpace.
To start on Facebook, set up an individual account under your name. Facebook allows you to add information such as personal interests, photos, favorite links – you can add as much personal information as you wish or don’t wish to display. If you have a business, you’ll want to add a Fan page – which are pages especially designed for businesses. Similar to User Facebook profile, your company Fan page allows you to add multiple tabs for information about your company, your mission, your website and your products. And Fan pages (unlike user profiles) are index by the search engines, thus giving your company greater exposure!
If you don’t have a Facebook account, open one now and add your Business Page. For more information read Facebooks instructions on building your pages.
See my Facebook profile at: http://www.facebook.com/giftrepsandy
LinkedIn is probably one of my favorite social networking sites. LinkedIn is a network of professional people who connect to collaborate on projects, seek answers and advice from other professionals around the world, and to promote their own business or personal accomplishments.
To set up a account with LinkedIn, you will develop a profile which includes information such as current and past jobs/businesses, education, awards, websites and/or blogs. Of course, you can add or not add information as you want. Once set up, you can browse and join any of the hundreds of professional groups for networking with folks with similar interests.
Another benefit of LinkedIn that I personally enjoy is the Q & A section. LinkedIn members post questions and allow anyone to response with an answer. Questions are categorized by industry and/or subject and allow you to subscribe to the discussions. Since my expertise is marketing and sales, I subscribe to Q & A groups in sales and marketing and have answered several questions pertinent to my knowledge level. When answering questions, you can post your URL to the message.
Bingo …. Another way to get your name and website in front of hundreds of people.
My LinkedIn profile can be view at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/giftrepsandy
