I've discovered that general social networks can be complete waste of time for business. It's that simple. Facebook is a gaming gimmick that wastes office time.
I've therefore decided that I'm only spending time with the "Big 4" business social networking sites SUp.biz, Plaxo, LinkedIn, and Ecademy.
These four are without a doubt the top 4 social networks to promote your business on.
I'll focus on the social network Fbook here real quick to prove that the four above are the best place to spend your time.
Let's just look at 3 popular applications on Fbook:
1: Top Friends
Add a box of up to 32 of your BFFs to your profile.
2,658,733 daily active users
2: FunWall
Videos, Photos, Graffiti, Greeting Cards, Embeds and more!
2,603,946 daily active users
3: Movies
Test your movie knowledge with the Never-Ending Movie Quiz.
2,373,887 daily active users
A very impressive list by daily active users, you must agree. Is there anything there that jumps out at you as a compelling reason to spend time online at work 'networking'? Indeed. I could go down the list of the top 20 apps and continue showing you things that have nothing to do with networking.
Now let us break down the big 4 social networks and where to spend most of your time on each of them...
SUp.biz
Yes, we are placing this site #1 out of the business social networks because it is simple to use and easy to get rolling as soon as you sign up.
Key Places to Spend Social Network Time In:
New Members Area - Each day their are hundres of new members looking to make connections. Come up with a nice introduction and welcome comment and post it on every new member's profile page.
Biz Forum, Blogs, and MarketPlace - The most recent posts get placed on the home page. So everytime you make a post in any of these three areas, you are getting great exposure.
Best Advice:
Upgrade to Diamond Membership - You get to promote your business freely, have your blog in featured, send a message to the entire membership once a month, and you are going to be constantly getting friend requests from your top listing in the membership area (Each friend request is an opt in to your own personal email marketing list).
LinkedIn
Although this is the largest, most members are there to find a better job. It is a great social networking site, but be prepared to have to spend a few months learning the ropes.
Key Places to Spend Social Network Time In:
The Answers Section - Find the area that you have the most experience in and start answering questions. You will rack up points and after awhile get a featured listing in that section.
Groups Directory - Use the search function to find groups that have members that might be interested in your product. Then identify the ones that are most active. Post one good discussion every couple of days.
Best Advice:
Upgrade to Business - This will give you a little bit more freedom in messaging, but the biggest benefit is being able to ask 10 questions per month in the Answers area. Stategically ask questions to get help and promote your business at the same time.
Ecademy
This is another great social network exclusive to businesses like SUp.biz. They have a nice base of members, but most areas are pay only. It is largely made up of UK and European members.
Key Places to Spend Social Network Time In:
Blogs - The active members spend their time posting blogs and making comments. Try and post once a day. Keep it short and simple. Ask questions about the network to get the most comments.
Top 100 Social Networkers - You can identify the top 100 social networkers for each country by reputation or by total connections. This is the best place to start when making connections because these people know the ropes.
Best Advice:
Upgrade to Power Networker - You will be able post blogs and message other members freely. Without the upgrade you are pretty much in read only mode, so this is essential.
Plaxo
This is the a business card contact style network that was bought by Comcast in May 2008. It has a large international member base.
Key Places to Spend Social Network Time In:
Plaxo Address Book - This is the big feature of the site that allows you to sync up every email account you have.
Plaxo Pulse - This is the social networking side of Plaxo. On your profile you can stream your rss feeds for everything you are involved with from photo sharing sites to microblogs.
Best Advice:
Have a Presence Only - You need to have a profile set up here that is sharp and interesting. Check in once a week and make a couple of changes to your profile.
More Social Networking Essentials
Posted by Kanika W
New methods for marketing your business are popping up everywhere, and online communities are no exception. So, exactly what is an online community and what does it have to do with growing your business? The truth is, you won’t know how it affects your business until you try it, but there are three key tips that can help you use them to effectively grow your business over time.
What is an online community anyway?
First let’s be clear about what an online community is and how it can be beneficial.
Online communities are like local networking events, only they take place online. They provide a way for businesses to interact with their customers, for customers to interact with a business, and perhaps most importantly, for customers to interact with each other. Online communities are a form of social media and can often work well when mixed with other forms of social media including blogging, email newsletters, podcasts, rss feeds, and others. So how can online communities help you grow your business?
Social Networking TIP #1: Be Consistent
No matter how you look at it, participating in online communities is a long term investment. If you stick with it and stay consistent, the pay-off can be rewarding. Frequent your favorite areas of the community, post a blog, post threads, but just like your local networking event, once you introduce yourself, you have to keep coming back so that people remember who you are. People do business with people they know and trust.
Social Networking TIP #2: Be Realistic
Just because you joined the community, doesn’t mean all of a sudden sales will come flooding through your door (if this has happened to anyone, please send an email to my inbox and let me know your secret). Online communities can be like any other form of advertising-- you try it, you test it, you see if it works, and if it does, you stick with it, if it doesn’t; well, you move to the next thing, but you have to remember that all social media is about building relationship based business. It’s a long term investment and it takes people time to get to know you.
In addition, understand why you joined the community. Growing your business should not be the only reason. There’s significant value in gaining free insight from experts who know the challenges small businesses face better than anyone else, and that’s your fellow business owners. Tapping into the knowledge base of a good online business community, can be just as rewarding as finding a new customer.
Read The Final Social Networking Tip and Make A Comment... |
