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Social Networking A great resource or simply a waste of time

Written by: Kathleen Gage

Article Overview: It seems at every turn we are hearing about the “latest and greatest” place to network and build market reach on the Internet. Regardless of the size of your business, there are likely things you could be doing to increase your market reach, but knowing which is the best for your particular needs can be a daunting task. Learn how to choose the best avenue for your social networking

Social Networking A great resource or simply a waste of time

It seems at every turn we are hearing about the “latest and greatest” place to network and build market reach on the Internet. Regardless of the size of your business, there are likely things you could be doing to increase your market reach, but knowing which is the best for your particular needs can be a daunting task.

Although some online methods are incredibly powerful, effective and necessary, others can be a complete waste of time and fall into the category of yet “just another passing fad.”

Something that has been around for a while, but as of late is getting much more “water cooler” attention is social networking. The term social networking was first coined by JA Barnes in 1954 to describe formations of various communities and organizations. In the early fifties the term had nothing to do with the Internet, but rather communities of people who would benefit from knowing one another.

The term is now most frequently connected to online communities of people who connect by way of places such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Ryze, StartUp.Biz, Twitter, and other such names.

The early adopters of social networks as we know them today were college students and young people who grew up on technology. Many professionals still view social networks as communities that have nothing to do with them. The fact is, more every day small, midsize and large corporations are finding value in utilizing the power and profit that comes from this powerhouse method of marketing.

Although corporations and smaller businesses haven't embraced online business networks with nearly the same enthusiasm as teens and college students who have using social networks for years, more companies are steadily overcoming reservations and using them to build potentially powerful relationships and business tools.

The fact is, when used correctly social networks can actually lower the cost of doing business. When you tap into the right social network for your goals and objectives you are able to more quickly reach your target market.

Other benefits include using social networks as a great tool for building credibility and trust with your current and potential clients and customers.

We are moving from a predominantly technology driven age to the age of recommendation. What this means is that more and more business is built based on referrals and recommendations.

Consider this. Each person you are able to connect with has a market reach of their own, often in the thousands, tens of thousands and in some cases, hundreds of thousands of people who likely have similar interests and needs. This is like networking on steroids; one person has the capability of introducing your products and services to thousands of people with the press of a button.

By the same token, they have the power to tell their network about things they don’t like about a company with the press of a button.

This is why now, more than ever, ethical business practices are so essential to a businesses ability to thrive.

Many large corporations are only just discovering that social networks are actually an excellent avenue to do targeted marketing and sales. The reason being is there are social networks for just about any interest group.

One of the greatest, yet most underutilized aspects of social networking is the ability to feed the postings that are done on one platform into another. For example, many smart marketers are using blogging as a part of their overall online position. When a new post is added to your blog, you can literally feed that post into other locations such as the social networks you belong to.

As powerful as social networks can be, it is easy to get carried away with all the excitement around them. What could be a very effective tool in your overall marketing can quickly turn into a technology nightmare and complete waste of time.

For micro and small companies it is recommended to limit the amount of time you spend posting on social networks. For larger companies consider having a department that handles this aspect of your marketing and public relations. Have measures in place in order to know if you are getting a good ROI from the time, money and effort used in this arena.

The fact remains; millions of web users, both in the B2C and B2B arena are using social networks. Additionally, many journalists are using social networks to gather information for timely stories. If it’s good enough for them, don’t you think it at least warrants some investigation as to what the benefits to your company are?

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Article Tags: authors, book marketing, internet marketing, making money on the internet, online business, online marketing
Referred by: http://www.sandcconsulting.com



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.
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: Anyone Uses Elance.com? Guru.com? Rentacoder.com? - [quote="litekepr":20i29h8l] One of the issues is that their revised fee schedule penalizes people who bid on a lot of projects. I don't need a lot of work to pay the bills, but Elance needs to work on the vast number of projects that are posted, but never happen. I've suggested that they offer some kind of instruction to people who post jobs. I've talked with more people on there that have no idea how to ask or answer questions and so they simply abandon the project. I don't know about others, but I put significant work into coming up with a realistic bid and its a shame to waste the time searching and bidding only to have many of the projects left open. Easily 80% of the jobs I placed bids on - appeared to never be completed. That's a BIG waste of time and effort. Shri[/quote:20i29h8l] Hi Shri, I agree that it can become a waste of time, and it's a shame that so many projects go unfinished. I guess we'll just have to look for other avenues to find work, like some that were suggested. Alan
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: Dropped Out Of School To Startup! - [quote="Kevin":88mkirnr]I also like to teach my students that school is only a waste of time if you see it as a waste of time. It's a self fulfilling prophecy. Like with anything, you only get what you put in and if you don't put in an effort/try your best and leave your ego at the door (i.e. you think you're smarter than the teacher/professor and can't learn anything new or practical), then you'll also leave with nothing.[/quote:88mkirnr] Exactly. It comes down to each individual. What may seem easy, fun, interesting, etc. to one person, may be totally lame and a waste of time to someone else.


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