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Examples of Social Media

Guest post by: Jean Klett

Article Overview: Social media can take many different forms. Popular networking site including Myspace, Facebook and LinkedIn are social mediums most commonly used for socialization and connecting. Social media has also become a tool for effective marketing.

Examples of Social Media

Before you can take full of advantage of all that social media has to offer, you must begin by understanding the different types which exist today. Once you have a grasp on what exactly you are dealing with, you will be better equipped to use them to their ultimate potential. Many people think that social media, in business terms, can only be used to promote your website. However it can take on a more active role including publishing or hosting duties. For example, sites like WordPress and Xanga offer simple yet excellent blogging programs. Any business can sign and use these sites to publish their own blogs. In some cases these blogs may actually serve as the company's primary website. The truly great thing is that many of these social media sites come outfitted with a built-in target audience complete with shared interests.

Popular social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace play host to an endless list of both large and small businesses. With millions upon millions of registered users online every day they offer the ultimate in free exposure and publicity. It is incredibly easy to sign up for a profile page and most of these sites offer their services completely free of charge.

A slew of other options exist in the realm of social media. For example, social bookmarking sites offer users the opportunity to post and share links to their favorite websites. There is no rule that says you cannot set up a link to your own website. Some popular examples of such sites include Digg, StumbleUpon and Del.icio.us.

LinkedIn is a great social networking site which allows professionals to mix with one another as well as their clients. It's a great place to make contacts and further develop professional relationships.

You can always decide to host your own social media programs on your own website. That would include anything from publishing a blog, to hosting a community forum, to posting informative podcasts or videos. It also gives online business leaders the chance to interact with their own clients on a more intimate level.

Marketing through social media is a timely investment however the rewards are noticeable. The fact that these social media outlets allow personal relationships to be built atop professional relationships makes them truly remarkable and unique opportunities.

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Article Tags: business, networking, social media, social networking, socialization, website



Related Forum Posts
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - [quote="WebBizIdeas.com":gvtxsu7g]Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff[/quote:gvtxsu7g] Hi Jeff, Thanks for the suggestion. Why don't you start a new post (with a poll) to see if there's enough interest in your idea for a social media section?
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!
Re: Marketing 2.0 - What Are Your Thoughts - Hi Shri, Thanks for posting this. I also read it and I believe Social Media is here to stay, until the next best thing comes up. Social media proved to be useful for me many times and I think everyone should use it for their business.
Re: Social Media Marketing Ignorance - [quote="vbn411":7qciluxl]Social Media is space that you have to be in to succeed in our current climate. People are going to be discussing your brand / product whether you like it or not, so you might as well join the conversation and add value. [/quote:7qciluxl] I think that's probably one of the most realistic way to think about it. There's no real textbook way of understanding Social Media, it's the networks of people and their interactions that will exist with or without your input. As for Jennifer, You can always have 2 Facebook pages. Many people do. There is also LinkedIn, which is like a professional networking version of Facebook. The only way to know is to try it.


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