Enterprise Nation

The next marketing wave is happening right now, on social network sites like Twitter andLinkedIn. Paul Myers says gaining a marketing foothold in this new world is cost-effective and will drive new customers to your business. It's a way to build relationships and build your image. Paul shows us the best sites around.

Which site should you use?

There are at least 35 different social networking platforms, and that number is growing. Some of them are blogging sites for sharing information and opinion, such as Wordpress and Blogger. Other platforms are built around instant messaging (AIM, Yahoo, Gtalk) while still others target a specific use (YouTube). Some are targeted as business networking opportunities. Without a doubt, social networking is the number one growth area in online marketing, with a combined worldwide audience of 580 million. Here are some of the more popular sites:

• Facebook – with nearly 200 million registered users, this site provides a platform for interaction between approved Facebook friends and its members. Businesses can target specific demographics with ads as well as set up their own “fan” pages – a nice storefront informational feature.
• Twitter – perhaps the hottest social network right now, this site’s growth has been nothing short of phenomenal since 2008. Its premise is for its membership to share what they are doing in real time – in less than 140 characters. Brevity is key, but you can share photos and links (links are automatically shortened to save characters), and you can build a following of other members.
• YouTube – a unique platform for social networking, YouTube’s content is all visual. The site is famous for its collection of video clips uploaded by members. There are specific channels of content, and this site has certainly been a mainstay of many viral marketing campaigns. Everything from music videos to movie trailers often get early exposure here.
• MySpace – an early frontrunner in the social networking trend, MySpace seems to have run out of steam to a degree. It still receives over 100 million visits a month, and many marketers maintain a MySpace presence as a supplement to their front-running social networking campaigns.
• Plaxo – this was originally a site intended as a way to store and backup address book contacts from multiple databases and offer a consolidated place to keep them. In the last couple of years Plaxo has steered itself towards more of a social networking feel, offering user status updates and other features similar to Facebook or Friendfeed.
• LinkedIn – an excellent site for businesses to network with each other, LinkedIn takes networking to another level. Members are urged to only approve “friends” they truly know and write referrals for those they’ve had business relationships with. Job openings are featured here, as are newsgroups built around common business interests.
• Skype – this site offers audio and text chat and is a powerful communication and networking site. Many businesses use Skype to communicate and conference with other business partners and affiliates around the globe.
• Ping – while not a social network per se, this is a free downloadable software that allows you to update nearly 40 different social media with a single click. If you have several social network accounts you’re maintaining, this can be a great way to send a consistent and brief message or link to all of them.

Increase exposure for your site through making the most of these sites!