Business Networking

Social networks are taking over the Web. Business professionals start understanding that people networks are powerful tools to raise awareness for a brand, target a broader segment of potential customers, deliver the news about a product, service, or company faster and so on.

With so many social networks on the Web, it is hard to choose the one that will work best for your business.

Social bookmarking sites like digg, redit, stumbleupon, del.icio.us, magnolia, Netscape, my space, etc are important networks and they might help your business by increasing targeted traffic to your website and delivering some link juice (as they are authority sites). But each of these sites has its audience and users. For example: it would probably be not so wise to submit SEO news to digg, as this particular social network had some issues against SEO sites in the past (issues that seem to be solved right now, but who knows?). Digg is a great place for entertainment and gaming news. It looks like the age segment of the digg users dwells between 14-22 years.

Serious business professionals seem to prefer a different social networking site: linkedin. If you browse the blogs of the most influent bloggers you'll notice on their sites a "view my profile at linkedin" button that will lead you to the site. Linkedin is based on a simple philosophy. As they say: "relationships matter". A linkedin account, if used properly, helps professionals in their daily endeavors by easing the way they look for potential clients and business partners and helping them find business opportunities or jobs. Linkedin is not a bloggers' exclusively network. Any professional is free to join, with or without a website.

If you are looking for a bloggers network, MyBlogLog seems to be the right place for you. It belongs to Yahoo and, except a dispute about an unjustly banned blogger, they have good reviews. It looks like they do their best to fight spam and have very strict privacy policy and terms of use.

There are many other networks online, but some are not as serious as the ones mentioned above. Businesses need to send out their messages to reliable networks and not randomly. To use the right network you need to identify your market and the network associated to that niche. Then you'll need to enunciate your message clearly to capture the attention of your potential consumers.

You'll also need to create competence - meaning: you have to prove yourself as a resource (so that people would bookmark your site for further reference and spread the word about the quality of the information provided within your web pages).

Always take care to reinforce your brand. The Web is highly competitive and people tend to forget about you if no one brings the matter back to their attention. But do it wisely and don't spam.

It is clear that when we talk about people networks you should show that there is a human behind your business. So make your message personal and encourage the members of the network to contact you for questions and support. They'll be glad to know they can rely on an expert in case of need.

If you have a big company hire a blogger or two to do the job. And if you haven't even considered social network sites by now, it is time you should really wake up and smell the Web 2.0! This is the future!

Rate Article

Related Videos
Play Video What's the Weakest Link in Network Security?	Play Video Malicious Spam Up 800% - FrugalTech	Play Video How to Job Hunt - Networking Tips	Play Video Preserving Your Social Network in Retirement	Play Video Social Networking and Retirement

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Virtual Community" article category.

People interested in the above article "Business Networking" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

 

5 Essential Tools for Your Social Media Toolbox

At this point, social media has gotten too big for even traditional marketers to ignore. Whether or not your company has already built a dedicated social media marketing campaign, the following are 5 essential tools that should be a part of your social media toolbox.

Share Your Favourite Images with Friends and Family

If you enjoy taking digital photos often and sharing them with friends and family, you may want to consider online photo sharing. It is the modern way to upload, store, and share photos. There is a number of websites, which offer online albums for organising and sharing purposes.

Online Business Networking - Is Linkedin a Good Place to Generate MLM Leads?

Linkedin is a valuable website, designed for interaction and collaboration among employers, professionals, and entrepreneurs. Although intended for tradional business networking, it can also be used as a tool for professionals in network marketing to expand their enterprise. This article points out some important considerations for those planning the use of Linkedin to generate MLM leads.

Are Social-Networking Sites Helping or Harming Your Reputation?

Social networking sites are a fabulous part of modern life. They allows you to reconnect with former friends, stay in touch with current friends while travelling or working overseas and can even help you find that dream job or partner. But there are downsides. When a New Zealand teacher job-hunting in China discovered his name was the same as another Kiwi with an online reputation for being anti-Asian, he realised why he wasn't being short-listed for jobs. A case of mistaken identity that had a very real negative affect in terms of his reputation and working life.

Does Social Networking Help Your Real Estate Business?

But has this new way of short-term, online connecting helped your real estate business? Do people really follow you on Twitter? Is your Facebook page crowded with enough Friends to fill Yankee Stadium? Are you LinkedIn with the people that matter? And if so, is your business growing? If not, you may need to adjust your technique, or get some help to update your knowledge or equipment.

The Popular Virtual Social Networking Website

Koinup is a virtual social networking website that helps people around the world to share information on their lifestyles by sharing their photos, images and other screenshots over the internet. Here we can get the reviews of other people lifestyles as well. Koinup is derived form a Greek word, which means media. More and more people are connecting themselves with the help of avatar in the web and sharing their reviews.

Specialty Social Networking Communities

Have you ever thought about joining an online social networking community? If you love meeting new people, there is a good chance that you have given it some thought. Despite wanting to join, there are many individuals who make the decision not to. Are you one of those individuals? If so, is it because you feel overwhelmed? There are literally an unlimited number social networking websites out there to choose from and many are full of members.