Social Networking & the Internet Marketer
Social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace and
Sumpleupon, just to name a few, aren't just for the internet
socialite any more. They've captured the interest of many
an internet marketer as well, and why not? It's the
perfect way to network, meet colleagues and form valuable joint
ventures.
In a nutshell, these social watering holes can help get the
word out about you and your business at nearly warp speed
because of the huge volume of visitors they receive.
But how can these sites actually benefit the online
marketer? Well, for starters they allow you to create
your own dedicated personal pages where you can add things like
product or service reviews, articles, ratings, comments and
encourage feedback from other readers.
Furthermore, sites like Del.icio.us and Digg take it a step
further by allowing you to save your favorite links to your own
website or blog pages so it can be readily shared with anyone
visiting your site. This not only gets the word out about
you and your business, it goes a long way in helping establish
relationships, credibility and trust.
But what's really behind all the social networking
popularity? It's the search engines, of course. All
the biggest and best search engines love these socialite sites
because they contain relevant and fresh content. If we
take a look at the Alexa rankings for a few of the more popular
social sites we can see how impressive their ratings are:
- MySpace - ranking below 10
- Facebook - ranking below 10
- Del.icio.us - ranking below 520
- StumbleUpon - ranking below 350
- Digg - ranking below 180
Having your web site's link on any one of these popular
social sites has the potential for increasing your site's worth
and popularity on the internet. But let's take a closer
look at some of the benefits:
- Viral Marketing
Use the 'tell a
friend' link found on the social networking sites. These
links have the potential of weaving your message throughout the
net. If you've written an article, made an interesting
comment or perhaps announced some news, this is how you can
virally spread that content across the web.
- Back Link Generation
Because the search engines have found favor with social
networking, you can improve your search engine positioning and
ranking simply by becoming a member of any of the social
networking sites. Begin by creating a comprehensive
profile that contains your website's URL and RSS feed. If
you can keep your website's content fresh and interesting you
will continue to enjoy a steady stream of back links.
- Joint Venturing
This social environment is perfect for helping you extend your
marketing reach to thousands of other online business
owners. You will have more than ample opportunity
to not only gain exposure quickly but also find businesses or
services that could easily compliment your business.
Consequently, creating joint venture relationships becomes a
lot easier because you now have access to important information
on how to reach relevant marketers. This makes it perfect
for assisting you in sharing advice, leads, content and
more.
Now that you can see the marketing potential of social
networking, how can you as an internet marketer actually use
these sites to your advantage?
- Market Yourself, Not Your
Products
Your main objective should be to attract like-minded
individuals with similar interests, goals and concerns.
Do this by creating an effective personal profile and lead in
with your personal story or information about YOU, not your
business opportunity. Write in a way that helps your reader
become familiar with who you are and what your goals are.
Blatantly promoting your products and/or interests is a sure
way to turn off readers.
- Contribute Your Ideas and Comments
Often
Continue to look for ways to help your readers achieve their
goals or resolve their problems. This is best done by
contributing useful ideas and information. Sites like YouTube,
Photobucket and Flickr allow members to post videos and
pictures, which are seen by millions of users daily. Got a
training video? Perfect. People love the ease of
watching a good training or even amusement video. Get it on
YouTube and you have the potential to attract
thousands.
- Incorporate the Social Plug-ins
If you use Wordpress as a content management system,
incorporate plug-ins like 'Add This' or 'Share This'. These
plug-ins enable your site's visitors to bookmark your website
with just one click. Getting bookmarked by as many users as
possible will improve your search engine rankings.
- Use Your Time Wisely
Beware; social networking can be addicting, not to mention time
consuming. Not everyone with an internet business
has all day to while away the hours peeking at new friends,
adding comments and making small talk. For this reasons
time management is critical. Start by selecting only a
few social networking sites, and allot only so many hours a
week to connect with friends and participate in
groups. Develop an objective for using these sites
and stick to your objective.
A Final Word
No business can stand alone on the internet. Your
business and marketing success depends on the connections and
networks you create. Using social networking is designed
for making such connections, so use them wisely.
Use Of Article Notification: You are free to use this article
on your website, in your newsletter or on your blog, however you MUST include the following as Author resource below.
About the Author:
Elizabeth McGee is a seasoned internet home business owner who educates and supports anyone interested in building a home internet business by providing free marketing advice, marketing product reviews, free courses, motivation and a friend. Grab Elizabeth's comprehensive free newsletter today.
