What Social Networking means for my business...

I've been reading up on tweets lately. Searching for small businesses such as myself - selling a product online - trying to learn something new (and I do all the time) from others.


But...I've been struggling to figure out what social networking means to me, and how I can use all the tools available to increase my business. After all, that's why I was interested in social networking in the first place.

I wasn't looking for a job, or to build an MLM empire, or to convince people I knew all about SEO (search engine optimization) and SMO (social media optimization) like most tweets I found about business were.

I wasn't this new wave of "entrepreneur" that popped up during the recession either, or the "twitter expert" so many claim to be. Could my business really benefit from this platform?

I have been slowly learning that the answer is YES. Here are just some of the things that I have discovered.

• Social networking is about offering "networks" information they would find interesting or helpful.
  

You don't have to sell anything to people, just share experiences and resources. If they want what you sell - they will check it out. They would never have known about your product it if they weren't initially interested in what you had to say and visited your site (or blog). Otherwise they would have found you in the search engines. I have a few blogs that I do for my personal interests - parks and dogs. The information I share is totally unrelated to my product - yet I see in my google analytics traffic coming to my main site through those blogs. Ahhhhh!! I get it. So I have to think the work or time I put into it is like the $ I pay per click. A soft or passive sell. I figured I better make blogs about things I was passionate about - otherwise I'd never do it.

• Social networking is about sharing and contributing.

It's really about the EASE in which you can share ideas, articles, or even products you like. If it was not for reading tweets I would never have found twitter.com/addthis which offers an excellent tool. The tool can be put on any site to allow your audience (or visitor) to easily share it with others they know. So now I can offer people the ability to add my Ring Guard website to their Social Network and guess what..they have! On the "AddThis" website you can track what sites they are sharing with (and what pages).

• Social Networking is about learning and growing.

I've "stumbled" upon many resources I never knew exisited (and I have been making a very decent living online for over 10 yrs). I found out how to use certain aspects of google more effectively (google goal setting and google base to name 2). I have seen what others are doing to promote themselves. I have had people answer my questions (not many mind you but at least some do). I try to "pay it forward" as much as I can.

Now of course there are idiots out there social networking who THINK they know it all or will not acknowledge your contribution to a thread of interest. AND I have run into a "data mining" link fake out from a tweet ...so you have to weed out the bad and follow those who you value.

After all....it really is about the QUALITY of follows not the QUANTITY.

I look forward to learning more from those I follow - and share their links with others. That is afterall what networking is about.

:P

Social Networking for the Online Business

Social Networking seems to be on every online marketers lips these days. I'm not an online marketer but I do have to agree with them when it comes to the value of social networking. As a small online retail business I'll try to explain what social networking means to me and how I utilize it.

• The best social networking for your business doesn't even come from you. It comes from blogs, comments on boards, discussions, and shared experiences past customers had with you.
  

Yes that is right! They are out there sharing information...networking socially you can say :)How do I utilize this for my business? By providing the best customer service, admitting mistakes, providing solutions, giving benefits to repeat business and of course providing the product they bought! It's what marketers may call "creating a buzz" by having others talk about your product. How do you know if this is happening? Search your web url in google and look at some of the links - you'll see people sharing your info. Make sure it's positive buzz.

• If your product isn't creating the buzz you want (or you want more!), or it's a new company with little history on the internet you could pay bloggers to write about or review your product.
  

Or you could offer a free product in exchange for a review. For instance, my product is popular in the diet community. I could research diet networking groups and blogs - find one that is popular and has a lot of activity on it and make an offer to the blogs owner or members. Know who your customers are, why they are buying your product. Then, understand what social circles they may utilize.

• Utilize popular networking sites.

Yes, you can go on digg.com, twitter.com, youtube.com, facebook (running out of breath) and so on. Make your profile share who you are and what you do. Maybe, just maybe one day they will remember you when a friend says....I wish I had a..(your thing here). After all, that is true networking isn't it. And I guess today the internet is the new "Social".

• I've "dugg" my own site, I admit it :P
• I use my youtube account to show videos on my site - and benefit from the youtube community
• Yes I've even written articles on my products, made comments on boards.
• I even use this blog to link to my site and tell you what I do :)
• ok ok....I am a errrrr do you call one who tweets? a twit? (I asked but noone responded) Anyways I use twitter, share my online experience with strangers
• I use facebook pages to offer FAQs and more information on my products.

The results?

1. 40% of my traffic comes from PPC (pay-per-click marketing),
2. 40% Natural search results (SEO) and
3. 20% from refering sites (Social Networks/blogs etc)

The interesting part. The "bounce rate" (number of people who come, and leave from the first page) is lower for social networking then with PPC. That's a good thing. It means those coming do so because it was "recommended" or they were "refered" to me by a contact they had with another site. Half the "sell" is already done for me :)

The other benefit from Social Networking - You're going to learn A LOT from others. So although it is a huge cost in time, the benefits are worth it!

NetworkSolutions new social networking site

Social Networks are popping up all over the place. Network Solutions has now opened a new social network for the developer and design community called "LinkTogether". LinkTogether™ has everything you need to grow and manage your business. Here is a list of the free resources they offer members:

• Get Hired
  Find jobs and projects in need of a Professional like you.
• Make Connections
  Show off your skills with a well placed portfolio in the Member Directory, make new contacts and collaborate in forums.
• Save design time
  Leverage customizable Web site templates, graphics, and ready-to-go Web sites with functionality already built in!
• Share Stuff
  Post your greatest hits. Steal with glee.
• Save big
  Get exclusive deals on Network Solutions® services.
• Smarten up clients
  Educate them with Smart Guides to facilitate technical conversations.
• Fire your lawyer
  Win new work with customizable proposals and contracts .
• Gain an edge
  Quickly get up to speed on popular topics with video tutorials
  

On the site there are tons of white papers ( authoritative reports or guides that often addresses problems and how to solve them) available to members addressing a wide span of information from DIY vs professional designers to increasing website accessibility. It may be worth checking out if you have a small online business and want to utilize free shared resources.