Many individuals and companies are all interested in this form of activity called “Social Networking”. With all of the different websites out there…where does one begin?
Social Networking can be a great way of communicating with people in and outside of your circle of friends whether local or international. It allows you to meet new people based on a variety of criteria or no criteria at all. This new and growing form of communication is very beneficial for many businesses as well. A business can interact with others online and position themselves as knowledgeable in their industry and drive potential traffic to their site.
Many businesses have been able to find contractors, clients, partners, or just new friends through social networking means. I am sure most of you know how important it is but wonder where on earth do I start? There are hundreds, likely thousands by now, social networking sites. Our team at Spark Internet Marketing put together the top five that we feel can provide a good starting ground.
WARNING: Any addictions as a result of social networking on these sites is the responsibility of the user and in no way can you blame me for it!!! 🙂
#1: www.LinkedIn.com
LinkedIn allows you to connect with a range of professionals and their networks. My personal favourite part of LinkedIn is the questions area. You can post a question to your network and their extended networks or you can answer a question. For example, if someone has a question about investing, if you have any knowledge about it or are in that business, answer the question. You would be amazed at how many discussions get started from a simple question and how many business connections you can make. When you join…add me to your network.
If you haven’t heard of Facebook…get out of your bubble and give it a try! Facebook allows you to connect with people, start and join groups about specific topic, post topics of discussion, launch events and so much more. Politicians, businesses, and individuals alike find value in this social networking platform. I love Facebook and frequent it daily.
Youtube.com allows users to post their own videos for the public to view, rate, and comment on. Businesses post educational videos about their industries, procedures, products, systems, client testimonials, etc. Individuals post home videos, how to’s, clips from television shows, speeches and more. Politicians, especially with the USA Primaries still in full force, are posting messages every day. You can put your favourite Youtube.com videos in you Facebook account or link to them from your blog, website, or even Linkedin.com. One thing is for sure, the internet has gone audio visual…its not just about reading information, it has now evolved into a new level of user interaction. I will stop there and save that for another blog post!
As a beginner…it might be confusing to have 2 or 3 different social networking sites that you must remember to log into. I recently signed up for Plaxo.com based on the advice of one of my colleagues here at Spark and am learning some pretty cool stuff everyday. What makes Plaxo.com fantastic is that you can have multiple social networking sites feeding into your “Pulse” page and give you updates from your extended LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, etc sites. You can also compile an online calendar and contacts that syncs with your Outlook…this is great for those that travel. More importantly, with Plaxo.com, you can update everyone by posting information, photos, topics, questions and more.
# 5 www.Ning.com
After exploring the top 4 sites…you love social networking at this point. Why not create your own? That is the mantra of Ning.com. Ning.com is new to me and I just recently began checking it out. What I find amazing about it is that one can build their own mini social networking site about whatever topic or interest that they like. Businesses can create industry related or even company specific networking sites that offer free advice or information to interested people. You can invite and share it with whomever you want. Pretty awesome if you ask me.
Social Networking is only as beneficial as the effort you put into it. Don’t join everything you can think of…start with one or two and grow from there. Did I mention that it is free? It is!!!
~S
