Why Every Business Needs To Be Active In Social Networking

Social networking for business purposes gives a business a multitude of options that they would not have in traditional advertising mediums. First, any content generated for social networking purposes can be recycled into another format. In fact, the smartest businesses do this often. This allows the business greater flexibility than businesses who do solo shots of content in one format. Why not do the work once and then reuse the product or article in another format?

Social networking can drive traffic straight from the platform. This is how most people use social networking and usually the only way they use the web sites. This can be a good strategy especially when a business has a cause driving its existence or the business has a known enemy. This business can also have a strong opinion about a subject. This opinion can be used to generate traffic and followers. What is important is developing an affinity with a community of users on the market. This affinity is what will allow a business to drive traffic and make sales from the social media platform.

Social media is also a wealth of marketing information. This is one of the most important functions that social media is best for in marketing or sales. This medium is a source of truthful reviews of products and services. This is also the place where people will directly tell you what products and services they would like to see developed. A business would only have to develop those products and services to get those sales. They also have a market of people to sell because they know how to access those buyers immediately.

Social networking posts can also tell a business what topics are hot and may generate news coverage. Anything that trends on the social networking system is a strong indication that it is a hot news item that can be piggybacked on and easily used for press release generation. The fact about generating successful press releases is that it is a numbers game. It is best to find a hot topic and keep making press releases until a business gets the coverage they desire. If a business keeps making press releases then it is a matter of time before they get coverage instead of being a matter of odds.

In conclusion, social media is a platform that every business needs to be involved in today. The businesses that do not have a social networking presence will be left behind by those businesses that do have a presence on the social media systems. A business on the social media platforms has the advantage of seeing trends and developing press releases and content about those trends. These trends are far more likely to have readership because they are hot topics that everyone wants to read about, and as a corollary, news reporters want to report about in their newscasts or stories. This will generate buzz about a company and let reports find out that a business and the business owner is a resource on a topic. This means that the reporter will be far more likely to call the business owner when they need an expert about that subject. All this can be generated by listening to the social networks and generating content about what they want to hear.

How To Build An Awesome Online Content Network

Have you been providing your fans and following with sufficient content? Better yet, does that content satisfy their needs and curiosities? If you're not sure, then you're not alone. The fact is that most of us really don't have a clue what our fans or our followers are seeking. In order to truly lead them to our websites and to lead them to our services and products, then we have to prove ourselves as worthy leaders. Too many times we set ourselves up as casual friends or acquaintances. While that is a nice gesture, it usually will not allow us to reach our goals.

As a minimum, you should have a website or blog, you should have a Facebook profile and page, and you should have a Twitter account. This triad of online presence is what you should be using to build your brand. As you place new useful content on your website or blog, then you should alert your fans and followers in the social world that it is there for their perusal. It is this three-pronged approach that will build your marketing presence and establish yourself as a guru in your chosen niche.

This network begins with a solid website or blog that features your products and services. It is here where customers and clients can choose to use what you have to offer. You can even take this one step further and let your blog be a place where you gather their names and e-mail addresses with an opt in box. This is a great strategy and allows you to communicate with them through e-mail for as long as they remain on your list.

The second prong of your online triad is your Facebook account. You should set up a solid profile that identifies yourself as being a subject matter expert in your niche as well as a resource. This is where you gather friends and start building a following. It is obvious that you would want to associate with people who have the same interest as you. You should join as many groups as you can and do not be shy about sharing links to your latest blog posts on those group pages.

In addition to your Facebook profile, you can also build Facebook pages designed to focus on certain elements of your niche. You can operate in the Facebook world as either your profile or as your page. When you are in the profile mode, then you should be finding friends and new groups to join. When you are in the Facebook page mode, then you should be finding other pages in your niche to like and encouraging them to like your page in return. As you gather more friends and more likes, then your overall status in the Facebook world will gradually rise. A word of caution here is to take it slow and gather friends and likes at a slow pace. Otherwise, Facebook will suspend your account.

The third prong of your online presence is to set up a Twitter account. This is where you tell your followers about your new posts and general information about your niche. Avoid the temptation to link your blog to your Facebook and Twitter accounts. While this might seem like a cool idea, it actually generates duplicate content which is a bad thing with the search engines.

After you get this triad of content delivery into place, then you need to just be patient and work it gradually every day. Do not fret if it seems like the combination is not working well for you. What people don't realize is that you really have to be patient and persistent when it comes to social networking. Just stay with it and before long you will have a huge following.

How Social Networking Has Changed Society

Remember back in the day when we worked from 9-5, nights and weekends were reserved for friends and family, and never the twain shall meet? Now that an estimated 23% of American workers telecommute, many use online social networks as a way to stay connected to co-workers and colleagues. Those who are chained to a company desk often use (or sneak onto) Twitter, Facebook or Skynplanet.com to stay in touch with friends outside of work.

DaniWeb's Ron Miller notes that the lines between work and home life are quickly becoming blurred and social networks had better be prepared to keep up. He makes a number of compelling points in his article, but this is what really stood out for me. It's possible that these social networking tools are just the beginning of something, that they could lead to ways of finding and interacting with one another we never imagined, but whatever happens, you can't dismiss these tools easily.

They are taking us somewhere exciting, but we have to work out how we deal with the fading boundaries these tools have left in their wake and that means rewriting our social rules as we go along. Social networking services expand the pool of people we have the opportunity to meet to near limitless possibilities. We're no longer restricted to or rely on people in our neighborhood, church, or workplace to provide the interaction we desire. Of course, getting to know others online is not a new concept, it dates back to the earliest days of Bulletin Board Services (BBS), IRC, and CompuServe.

The main differences now are the real-time ways we communicate via instant messaging, skynplanet.com status update, Facebook walls, and Twitter replies. It more closely mimics face-to-face conversations than interactions via email, forums, or message boards, but it also means there are a lot more opportunities for social gaffes and missteps. Users have already clued into that fact, or screwed up themselves, and are beginning to establish new social conventions.

Articles outlining the "proper use and etiquette of social networking" pop up around the Internet on a near-daily basis, and self-proclaimed experts regularly police sites like Twitter to call out users they believe are acting inappropriately. Social networking sites thrust people together in mind-boggling combinations of attributes -- conservative/liberal, geeks/non-geeks, parents/child-free, religious/atheist/agnostic. As a result, hierarchies, pecking order, and enforced social structure are bound to emerge. It's what we humans do. I'm not surprised to see these communities establishing new social rules; I'm only surprised it took so long.

Talent Network - Places to Start When Sourcing Candidates

When talking about talent networks, the candidates are provided with a wide range of ways to register themselves with these types of networks. It might be through job recruitment campaigns, through career site, etc... As most of us know, many youngsters are looking for the right kind of job opportunities for betterment of their career, while there are also employers looking for ways to recruit the right kind of candidates to their organizations. For sourcing the right candidates, they instruct their HR department to find the right talent from different sources. Even though, most of the HR departments use different methods for recruitment of appropriate talents, here are some of the places from where they can find the right candidates according to the requirement of their employer:

Folders: Even though, most of the organizations are having centralized records, some of organizations' HR departments still recruit candidates from the database that they have in their system. Even though, this method of sourcing for right personnel is conventional, it is useful for the organizations to find talents easily.

External sites: There are a number of job portals online and not only candidates, but also employers can be benefited from these sites. These portals have their own zone for employers in such a way that they can register themselves for finding appropriate candidates according to the requirement of their organization. This is another option available for the HR departments for sourcing appropriate candidates.

Social networking sites: Social networking sites can be used not only for chatting with friends and relatives, but they can also be used for finding the potential employees for organizations. Once the employers advertise their requirements in these social sites, they will be in a position to get a pool of response from which they can filter some and can call them for interview. Nowadays, social networking sites are turning out to be the biggest source for employers.

Talent network: This is the latest option available for employers in finding the right kind of talents. There are good sites offering the employers with the facility of registering themselves and they can begin to build a network and can find the brightest talents across the social web. Not only employers, but also candidates can register themselves with these sites and can develop in their career and they can also earn by making referrals. So, if you are sourcing the right talents for your organization, you can make use of the aforesaid sources.

The Top 10 Mistakes People Make Using Social Networking for Business

Those new to social networking or social media marketing - even some experienced using it - can easily get caught up in the moment, when positing. With such things as a serious sales pitch, cynical postings, invalidating a follower, protracted and unfriendly responses to someone unhappy with comments or products. While one comment can cost you, think about how a combination of these can take their toll. Void any good previously created on your pages.

Here are the top 10 social networking and social media marketing mistakes you can make:

1. Shameless Self-Promotion

By far, the worst thing you can do is use your social media site as a sales page. People on these sites don't want to be marketed to. They want to socialize, network and share common interests.

2. Buying Your Friends

On Fiverr.com and other freelance sites, you'll find people selling friends for social media sites. It may be tempting to pad your profile with fans, but this is a deadly mistake. In most cases, the 'friends' aren't even real people. If they are, count on the fact they're not really interested in your page or postings. Do this enough, and it will become obvious to real people who show up to visit your page.

3. One-Way Exchange

When people comment, or ask questions on your page, you must respond. You need to reply to questions, thank posters for comments and suggestions. In short, make visitors and followers feel welcome. This shows you're an approachable, responsive brand that cares about customers and clients.

4. Doing Nothing

What makes a social media site popular is interactivity. If yours just presents information about your brand, and nothing more, people won't stick around. Use the apps and widgets available to make your site interactive.

5. Social Media Neglect

Maintaining a social media site requires checking it regularly. Try to set aside time, daily, to post, comment and respond. The brands, most active, generally are the most popular; with the most active followers. Try to carve out a little time and include it in your schedule.

6. Fighting Words

Regardless of remarks made, never respond by complaining, insulting or fault-finding with a poster. Doing this can quickly brand you as unprofessional. Not just to the commenter but to other followers and visitors. Always be considerate, polite and friendly. Keep things positive even when you'd love to give someone a serious piece of your mind.

7. It's All About Me

If your page does nothing but talk about you, your products and services, people won't stay interested. Share tips, resources, links to other valuable info and articles. Create surveys and polls to discover what fans and followers would like to hear more about. Then create it or find it and share it.

8. Wallflower

Don't wait for people to visit your profile. Get out there and socialize. Make friends, spend time on other profiles. Take time to get to know people. You'll be surprised at what a difference this makes.

9. Inappropriate Comments

Whenever you're logged in, be extremely self-aware. Every statement you make - every suggestion, every comment - reflects your brand. Make them clear and concise. Show your personal side but steer clear of sharing too much personal info. Show yourself as a professional. A biz owner who can be counted on to do the job if hired. Someone people want to follow, refer and positively talk about.

10. All Over the Place

Create continuity by sticking to topics related to your brand. While it's okay to digress, show your personal side, sticking to related brand topics is best since it's what fans care about, most. And, very importantly, why they follow you.

Bottom line, respect your followers and fans, treat them well. Respond to questions and problems with care; provide additional info, if needed. Present them with valuable info, resources and links they can actually use. Show them you appreciate and value them. And they will continue to respect and follow you.

Get 1000s of Targeted Leads From New Facebook Pages - Don't Buy Facebook Fans

Using Facebook pages to capture leads, emails or "likes" is an extremely effective way to build your list fast & get massive traffic numbers which can result in higher affiliate paydays.

Some people choose to buy Facebook fans in order to get traffic but I am going explain a better way to get 1000′s of leads, and why buying Facebook fans can blow up in your face.

Getting "likes" from Facebook not only gives you the chance to go viral fast, but also it allows you to take advantage of the social interaction, it gives you another avenue to advertise your business, it gives you email marketing capabilities, and best of it gives you viral syndication of your content.

But with recent changes in 2012 including Facebook timelines on pages, and new designs, there are few changes in how you turn a Facebook Page into a Squeeze or lead capture Page. One of the main changes that has affected marketers is that Facebook no longer allows you to set a "default" tab for your page.

This has drastically changed how you can increase your likes or leads. Before March 2012 you could set a default tab to be sort of a "content lock" so that people were required to like your page in order to get access to the content or freebie.

The advantage of this is that if you had a great offer and it went viral then you could get several likes in a short period of time. This worked great. Although you can still do this some things have changed.

Why are "Likes" So Valuable?

Here are 3 main reasons:

1. You build credibility - this one is simple, the more likes you have the more perceived trust you have. One strategy some businesses use is to buy Facebook fans from people on places like Fiverr. I don't recommend this only because I like to see the real number of people who actually like my information and this allows me to make changes if needed.

2. A targeted audience - One of the main advantages of having people like your page is that they will continue to receive information you send them on their news feed, and since they have liked your page they are likely interested in what you have to say.

If you buy Facebook fans then your leads are not targeted, and when you go to advertise to your page you could be paying for impressions that are not targeted! This totally defeats the purpose of getting targeted leads. One advantage of having several likes to a page is that you can set up ads specifically for the people who like that page, and if they already confirmed that they like your page, they are more likely to be interested in related offers. This again will reduce your cost per click when it comes to advertising to this group.

3. Viral syndication - what I am referring to here is the ability to link a blog to your Facebook page. By linking your blog to a Facebook page using a free tool like Facebook Page Publish plugin you can have all your blog posts sent to your Facebook page which then automatically updates the people who like your page. This is all done automatically, and all you need to do is provide useful posts.

Building an Email List Using Facebook

You can also integrate aweber or other email autopresponder services with your new Facebook pages. This allows you to capture emails from Facebook.

The benefits of this are that if you are advertising on Facebook and linking to a Facebook squeeze page rather than your own website, you can get much cheaper clicks, and you can also get more likes. Also, if you are getting traffic from other source not Facebook, the visitor to your page does not have to be logged into Facebook to get onto your list, as opposed to "likes" where the user must be logged in.

People also seem to have more trust when they remain on Facebook and therefore are more likely to enter an email as long as what you are offering is something they want.

Here are the 4 steps to create a squeeze page to capture several emails:

1. Set up the Facebook Page as you normally would. Make sure you have a professional cover, and nice images and good content. There are several articles online about how to set up a nice Facebook page.

2. Sign up to an auto-responder service. An auto-responder lets you to create web forms or opt-in forms that you can integrate right into your Facebook Page. I use Aweber (my email marketing service of choice) to place a web form on my Fan Page.

Aweber is a great place to start and they do have a $1 trial for the first month. There are other places such as get response that allow you to build your list also but I use Aweber because in my opinion it is the best out there, they have excellent email deliverability and it is easy to integrate not only with Facebook but my blog as well.

3. Use a custom Application so you can insert the autoresponder code right into your Facebook pages.

In order to get people to enter their email you will need to have something they want and you will need to send them to this page to get it. Many times a free report is not enough. You need to give them more.

4. Now you just need to get traffic to your Facebook page. One of the best traffic sources is Facebook ads, since the people are already signed into Facebook so they can easily like your page. You Tube traffic also works well and can be free.

As more and more people begin to like your page you will find that the number of likes will exponentially increase for a while as you post more content to your blog. The more quality content you send the more likely people are going to interact with your page.

There are several tricks to learn when it comes to interacting with your fans. Once you have set up your page and it looks nice and you have some content, you can try a few viral tricks like adding a video, or a controversial blog post, or even talk about something is happening in the news or trends.

All of these things work to get more people talking about your page, and the more likes you have the more traffic you will get.