Social networking sites may have begun as a fun way to keep in touch with friends, but many business owners are discovering just how valuable they are when it comes to promoting their business.
Sites such as MySpace, Twitter, Facebook and Digg have proliferated exponentially over the past five years. The potential for businesses to use these sites to their advantage is nearly endless.
Advertising
Most social networking sites are free. This gives e-commerce business owners a previously unheard of opportunity to have free advertisement for their products and services while simultaneously maintaining control over what demographic they target.
Facebook, for example, hyperlinks areas such as “Interests.” So if your business sells sweaters, you can put “sweater” or “clothes” in that section. Clicking on those words in your profile will lead you to other users who have listed the same interest. By messaging or “friend requesting” them, those users will receive automatic updates about any sales or special offers your business has to offer.
If your e-commerce business has its own independent site, MySpace and many other social networking sites have a section for you to post your link.
The ability to post photographs and blogs on these sites can even be a substitute for having an independent Web site. For example, if your company sells backpacks, you could post a MySpace blog with a picture of the product, a description and purchasing information. Anyone who subscribes to your blog will automatically be notified about the post.
Additionally, many social networking sites offer bulletin posts, on which you can post mini-blogs or comments to the entire community. This means other users don’t have to be your “friend” or go to your specific page to learn about your business.
Twitter is currently the hottest social networking trend. On Twitter, users have a limited amount of characters (160 maximum) to “tweet” about their day. Twitter users “follow” each other’s tweets, giving them a practically running commentary on their friends or family’s days.
Since Twitter doesn’t have a space to put an extensive profile (like MySpace), it may not be the ideal site on which to advertise your company’s general services and products.
For an e-business, however, Twitter can prove just as beneficial in that it can instantly notify users of sales, special offers, contact information or links to your Web site.
Some social networking sites, such as Digg or Newsvine, are based on users sharing news stories or video clips. Has your business been profiled in an industry magazine or local news network that’s published online? Upload the article to Digg to promote your company.
Helping your business grow
Social networking sites can also help you when your business begins to thrive and grow. If you’ve grown out of your home-based office, for example, social networking sites can help you find a good area to establish your new office.
You might notice that most users who live in a certain town or area of the city are “fans” or “friends” the kind of product you offer.
These sites can also help you to find employees. Many sites hyperlink to users’ industry in the occupation box. If you’re looking for an administrative assistant, clerk or accountant, entering those terms into the search bar can lead you to your next potential employee.
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