Get Social – Build Your Network – Grow Your Business!
Jul 6th, 2008 by admin
One of the best ways to boost your exposure and create awareness of your services or products is to get social on the Web. By social, I am referring primarily to networking – as this approach works quickly and effectively (and costs next to nothing). If you’re sitting back waiting for business to come to you, it’s not going to happen. You need to get out there, get your business in front of people and create word-of-mouth (viral) opportunities.
Social networking Web sites (i.e. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.) offer various ways for you to interact with others such as message boards, instant messaging, forums, blogs and so on. To get started, you need to identify those sites that best meet your needs and help you reach your intended audiences. For example, if you are selling online music downloads targeting the teen market – consider MySpace. But if you’re trying to connect with other small business owners, LinkedIn and Facebook would offer you more opportunities to reach entrepreneurs. Make sure to do your research. Wikipedia has a great list of social networking Web sites here.
Once you have pinpointed the best sites, your next step is to create a winning profile or bio page. Here is where you can tell a little bit about yourself and your business. One giant no-no… Never utilize a social network as an advertising or marketing platform – and for the love of Pete, don’t spam these sites! Start advertising your products or services on a forum thread or message board, and you’ll not only tick off community participants, but you’ll most likely get kicked off the site. Remember that you’re there to build one-on-one relationships with people, to gain market insight and to hopefully drive quality traffic to your site through minimal efforts (and without sounding like a salesperson).
Once you’ve set up your profile, including uploading a pic (very important), you’re ready to start building your network and getting out into the community. Start by searching for people you know. This is how viral marketing works. You tell someone, they tell someone and the message keeps spreading like a virus. Don’t forget to take part in the core activities of the site and continue to do so – whether that is answering questions on a Social Knowledge Web site like WikiAnswers (best Q&A site on the net!) or commenting on stories that have been submitted by other members of Social Bookmarking sites such as Reddit or Digg; act like a member of the community, not a marketer.
New social networks pop up daily, so you’ll have to keep an eye to the street and an ear to the Web – something like that – to stay one step ahead. Just remember not to sound or act like a salesperson, participate in what others are doing and give your fellow community participants props when they are deserved. Follow these simple guidelines and pretty soon everyone will have your virus!
