E-Mail
Print
tool name
closeThink social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are the sole domains of bored teenagers and flirty college students? Think again.
Social networking sites, which are among the fastest growing segment of the Web, are used for much more than idle chatting with friends. In the hands of a savvy business person, these sites may also become effective tools for research, promoting products, networking with other professionals and increasing traffic to your business’ site.
Although there is a wide range of social networking sites out there, even the more casual ones may be useful for researching potential employees, colleagues and clients. While some people use their MySpace account to promote their business or personal interests, others may be there for different reasons, such as social interaction, so the usefulness of such research may be limited.
Other social networking sites like LinkedIn and Ryze exist specifically for business networking. They give users the ability to share contacts, search for qualified employees and seek out like-minded business people. Additionally, these sites allow you to explore friends of your own contacts, which opens up new networking possibilities.
Although MySpace and Facebook may be used for networking and research, they may also prove effective in driving traffic to your own site as well as marketing tools to reach audiences you may not otherwise reach.
For example, The Bellingham Herald maintains both Facebook and MySpace accounts for its satellite entertainment site, GOBham.com. The Herald places headlines for recent stories and blog posts on these GOBham profiles using RSS feeds. Additionally, bulletins and items appear on the sites promoting stories, photos and events. These links let users know about recent stories without requiring them to go any further than the social networking site itself. To see the stories, a user clicks on the headline, which drives traffic back to the main site.
MySpace lets users create their own URL that is nothing short of free online real estate. For example, after purchasing the GOBham.com domain name, The Herald created a MySpace account for the site and secured the myspace.com/gobham URL. Regardless of how often you may update the MySpace page, it is in your best interest to secure the URL and at least place a link back to your primary site.
A business may also create Facebook and MySpace applications in which a user can place his or her own profile. These applications can display products, videos, photos or other information about your business you may want to offer people. For these types of projects, however, you will need a Web developer.
Overall, the combination of social networking, user-generated content and online community building tools have changed how a business can interact with its customers.
Currently, a large number of social-networking site users are young, but eventually they will enter the business world. As they do, social networking Web sites may become a more important way to build business relationships and promote business than traditional methods.
-
Production Floor Lead
Absorption Corporation -
Payroll & Human Resources Assistant
Smith Gardens -
NAC's
Highland Care Center -
District Secretary position
Whatcom County Fire Protection Dist. #14 -
Open Positions
SKAGIT VALLEY HOSPITAL
@Nyx.CommentBody@