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What IS Social Networking and why is it so beneficial for Marketers?

Guest post by: GT Bulmer

Article Overview: We now live in an age when everybody talks about Social Media and Social Networks and Social Marketing, but what IS social networking? And what makes it so attractive to home business enthusiasts and Internet Marketers? Here is the simple answer...

What IS Social Networking and why is it so beneficial for Marketers?

We now live in an age when everybody talks about Social Media and Social Networks and Social Marketing, but what IS social networking? And what makes it so attractive to home business enthusiasts and Internet Marketers?

Here is the simple answer to what social networking really is: It is being part of a social group or community of people who want to connect or communicate with others to share a common interest. The interests can be varied and will depend on the group, which may include family, friends, strangers or any combination thereof. This is attractive to entrepreneurs and marketers because of the potential for some of the contacts to become customers or business associates.

There is also the potential for people in one social network to tell their contacts in other social groups about you, and in turn, for those people to tell others, and so on. You might be able to reach far more prospects through this form of social networking than you could have otherwise. And other than the time it takes to be social with the members of your various networks, it doesn’t have to cost you anything.

In the days before the Internet, people would network socially in local community clubs and associations. Some of these might have been organized community groups, while others were informal, but regular, social gatherings, like your weekly night out with the guys or gals.

Today, in addition to those same offline social groups, there are countless social networking sites on the Internet. Some are large and well known, like Facebook and Twitter, offering a platform where members can become involved in any number of special interest sub-groups or circles. Other sites are smaller and designed to cater to interest groups within a very specific niche.

In all cases, the purpose is to give members a place and a means to interact with each other in a friendly, supportive environment. This could involve texting, live chatting, sharing photos, videos and other media, and basically enjoying the opportunities for social contact with others.

In some of the mainstream social networks online, direct promoting of your business opportunities and products and services is not encouraged or allowed, although some of the networking sites do provide a way or a means to do this while keeping within their guidelines.

Your goal on networking sites that do not encourage direct marketing is simply to become known as a member who visits regularly and contributes value to the topics and discussions. Share your knowledge, your insight and your expertise in your niche without being promotional. Inform the members of your groups, but do not sell to them.

In fact, this is a good practice to follow even on business social networking sites. The aim of every professional business person should be to brand themselves as either an expert in their niche, or as a preferred source for the products and services they provide. If you focus too much on promoting your products, other members will soon learn to tune you out and may ignore you entirely.

On the other hand, if you use the networking site as a place simply to develop social contacts and to share knowledge and insight that is of value to your targeted prospects, you will be appreciated and stand a greater chance of drawing qualified prospects to your website.

What IS Social Networking? Very simply, it is all about joining various social groups to meet people, share interests and knowledge, and connect with wider and wider circles of contacts that you might otherwise never have the chance to meet. Approach this professionally and your business will benefit.

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Article Tags: internet marketing, prospecting, sales, social marketing, social media, social networking



Related Forum Posts
Re: How can a social networking site make serious money? - Hi There, It is quite interesting, that some Social Networking do produce an income. I think testimonials are always a benefit to share. See one below: This Social Network has changed my life! Every night is a Friday night and everyday is a Saturday!! Because of it, I have been able to leave the workforce 10 years early.It has given me back my life. Many of us would like to retire early. I am sure there are many more. The point is of focusing with great determination. The ongoing challenge is to stay focussed and not be sidetracked into a newer scheme or so. Also I have read, during this financial turmoil, more people turn to Social Networking for various reasons.
Marketing 2012 - I am interested in what works for you in 2012, Social Networking, Search Engine traffic, Blogs, Articles, Forums, what? This is a quote from a 2009 Topic "Twitter, Social Networking, What is your Method? From my experience, social networking traffic (Twitter included) also converts at a far lower rate than search engine traffic. Evan Is this still true, or do you use something that gives us better returns and conversions
Re: Marketing 2012 - [quote="drdony":2y0daolc]I am interested in what works for you in 2012, Social Networking, Search Engine traffic, Blogs, Articles, Forums, what? This is a quote from a 2009 Topic "Twitter, Social Networking, What is your Method? From my experience, social networking traffic (Twitter included) also converts at a far lower rate than search engine traffic. Evan Is this still true, or do you use something that gives us better returns and conversions[/quote:2y0daolc] Great question Don! I'll create a video reply!
Re: Tactics for Blog Traffic - some more tips to drive traffic to blog or to promote a blog. Squidoo Lens Creation Hub Pages Creation Social Bookmarking (Digg, Delicious, Stumble, Reddit etc.) Be helpful in forums Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, LinkedIn etc.) syndication blog commenting (other blogs) Guest post
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas! - GT - thanks for the FYI - I'm not sure if we'll put a link back. Something to consider though! Trent - the new category is "Social Network and Media" which was put in to compliment the Online Businesses category that currently exists. Overall the new categories are: - Looking For, Networking and Events - Review My... - Social Network and Media - Brags and Rants These came as a result of Ringo doing research on other forums and thinking about what could be improved on ours to give a better experience for everyone. I hope you enjoy them! David, I'm looking forward to reading your Brag / Rant!


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