Tweet

Joining the Social Networks

Written by: Scott Hendison

Article Overview: This past summer, I made a huge time investment joining and learning everything I could about various Web 2.0 communities. I have several clients that will really benefit from participation in these communities, and I can’t coach very well if I’ve never played the game, can I?

Joining the Social Networks

I first joined Technorati in 2005, and after a Pubcon conference in 2006, I got Digg and del.icio.us accounts. Since then, I’ve submitted a few articles here and there at Digg and de.licio.us, but beyond that, I’ve admittedly been a pretty slow adopter to the world of social networking.

There are social bookmarking sites that are great for building inbound links, and there are news and article sites that help generate traffic, and they all have communities that are growing all the time.

For me to ignore these Web 2.0 in my effort to drive traffic and links for clients would practically be malpractice, and I think I have a pretty good handle on things now. It’s been quite an educational few days, let me tell ya!

Even though all the pundits have been saying that Web 2.0 is the way of the future, and social media is where everything is happening now, I’ve had other priorities, and I’ve assumed that it was just not that important compared to search engine traffic.

A couple of months ago I joined Facebook, after a friend of mine put his wedding pictures up there, and ended up poking around in their for a while, finding it to be pretty good.

I’ve been using Mybloglog quite a bit, and making sure to comment here and there on people’s profiles that stop by my own blog.

At Danny Sullivan’s Advanced SMX in Seattle last month, I talked to one person after another that was singing the praises of various social networks, social bookmarking, this widget, that widget, and whatever might be coming next.

I even talked to someone who had literally dozens of different logins for many of these services, and paid employees to generate “buzz” for certain clients in certain industries. While that may go against the spirit of these services, there is no denying that the increased traffic leads to increased sales, and ultimately increase profit for the customer.

This summer, the board of SEMpdx.org was discussing ways to promote an upcoming networking event at Paddys bar downtown. After joining the Portland group of the Facebook, Todd Mintz noticed that there were over 33,000 members in the Portland Facebook group.

That number to me is staggering! I would’ve thought there may be only a few hundred, or even a thousand, but 33,000 members in Portland? Clearly, there’s a ship sailing away here, and I’m not on it!

After that, I spent about an hour joining every one of these social bookmarking groups:

Backflip, Bibsonomy, Blinklist, Blue Dot, de.lirio.us, Diigo, Furl, Jots, Linkroll , Looklater,
Ma.gnolia, Markaboo, Rawsugar, Shadows, Simpy, Spurl , and Wink

Then I made sure that I was a member at most of the other important sites, (some of which I had actually joined quite a while ago but forgot about altogether)

More that I’ve joined are:

Netscape , Newsvine , Plime , Reddit , Stumble Upon , Shoutwire , Tailrank, Squidoo and
PlugIMM .

It sounds like a lot of time, but joining the services took me a total of maybe 90 minutes altogether. What took a lot of time, and continues to, is the endless poking around, and reading of others’ material.

I’m trying to do this with a totally “white hat” mentality, and you really have to, because these sites police themselves, and if they find that you are engaging in shameless self-promotion, and do not participate in their community, and vote on the sites of others, they will bounce you out of the system.

Happy tagging…

Related Articles
  Using Social Networking Websites to Promote Your Business
  Social Networks... are they for you?
  How do I use Social Networks for Marketing?
  Top 5 Green Social Networks
  Online Social Networks Part 1 Social Networking

Article Tags: buzz, danny sullivan, digg, dozens, engine traffic, few days, inbound links, increased traffic, logins, malpractice, networking event, priorities, pundits, seattle, singing the praises, smx, social bookmarking sites, social networking, social networks, widget



Related Forum Posts
Women Entrepreneur Tips - Thank you LeoOliveros, I found #4 particularly true in my case: 4. The Enterprise Must Include the Power of Power Networks. As a conductor of your own enterprise, you can not see yourself as a one-woman-show. You must choose to utilize the power people in your life, by asking for help when you need it, and effectively delegating in order to capitalize on your strengths and that of your power network. When certain experts are not represented in your power network, you must actively seek advisors or mentors and develop a team of specialists, so the benefits are received by everyone involved in the power network - the true Power of Power Networks.
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: 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: 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: Does it help to join business groups? - The hardest thing to do (men or women) is to network and gain meaningful contacts. Further, developing relationships with these contacts can be cumbersome at best. Joining business groups is a fantastic way to push yourself ahead, gain some motivation, and learn from others. I would say it most definitely helps to join business groups. For very involved businesswomen, sometimes these kinds of 'social events' are what they need to relax and step away from their business for some down time. Try it out, I'm confident you will not be ashamed you did!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

The Right Job - Part Five 'Compensation'

Time management for DIY PR

LEARNING TO HAVE FUN – EVERYDAY!

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.