Social networking03012010

SOCIAL NETWORKING 101The Very Basics of Marketing on the Internet

What We Will Cover

What is Social Networking? What’s the difference between Social

Networking sites and a “regular” Web site? Do I need to have a Web site, a blog and join

Social Networking sites? How do I create an effective yet safe profile? How many sites should I join? How do I make the time to keep up with all of

this?

What IS Social Networking?

The Ability to Find People Access to Information Online “Community” Multi-directional Interactive Communication A virtual Chamber of Commerce

Old vs. New Web

Old Web (Web 1.0) predominantly one-way communication

Forums and later Blogs allowed limited two-way communication

Web 2.0, or Social Networking, allows users to interact with each other

Social Networking Sites

What These Sites Have In Common

Membership Personal and/or Business Profile “Friends” Discussions and Groups News Feeds

Why Should I Care?

You can make you and your business more visible

You can connect with customers and prospects Allows you to demonstrate your expertise People are increasingly searching for goods

and services using Social Media Web sites are becoming secondary sources of

information

Why Should I Care?

If Facebook was a country it would be the world's third largest

More than 95% of people under 30 are using Social Networking

The fastest growing demographic of Social Networking users is between 30 and 50 years of age

Social Networking has surpassed Google - and even pornography - as an Internet activity

What About "Regular" Web?

Blogs still have an important role in connecting you with your customers and your prospects

Regular Web sites allow you to maintain a virtual storefront or office

Social networking sites can drive traffic to your blogs and your “traditional” Web sites.

DIVING INTO SOCIAL NETWORKINGCreating Your Place in Cyber Space

Creating Your ProfileWhat you need to know to create a profile the will help the right people find you.

Your Profile Photograph

Bad Photos Good Photos

Profile Data

Be discreet with personal information Focus on business information In general, keep it professional Avoid controversial statements Be descriptive when writing about your

business If possible, insert links to your Web site(s) and

blog(s) Create one profile per site Use key words

Making FriendsHow to build a network that will help you build your business

Invite People You Know

Co-workers Vendors Customers Networking buddies Prospects Quality over quantity – be discriminating

(except on Fan Pages)

Meet New People

Join Groups "Like" people and Pages Post on your page Post on other people's Pages Attend events Put "Badges" on your Web page(s) and blog(s) Use QR or other tags

About Friend Requests…

You don’t have to accept all friend requests If you don’t know the person, investigate You can always “un-friend” someone later Look at your friends’ friends Quality vs. quantity

Posting ContentHow to attract attention and avoid trouble

Respect Terms Of Service

Be sure you understand the Terms Of Service (TOS)

Violating TOS can alienate you from community members

Violating TOS can get you banned for life Report TOS violations

Use Your Common Sense

Think before you post Avoid negative posts If you feel the need to criticize, make it

constructive Understand the definition of “libel” and

“slander”

Make It Informative

Post “how to” articles and videos Look for opportunities to comment on other

people’s postings Add value if you comments on someone else’s

posting It’s OK to make references to other postings

(preferably yours) or even seminars or products as long as it makes sense

Too much selling will backfire on you

Understanding the DifferencesHow to decide what Social Networking sites to join and how much time to spend on each

The “must be on” site Outstanding search features Ideal for job seekers Excellent resource for sales people Embodies the Six Degrees of Separation Lets members ask questions in open forums Has a variety of groups to join

Lets people find nearby businesses

Lets the “check in” when they come in

Lets them tell their friends where they are

Lets you offer coupons and discounts to visitors who check in

Lets you compile statistics

Lets people write reviews of your business

No real control over what people post

You can invite friends to join and post

May or may not work for your business

Arguably one of the most popular and effective sites for business networking

Lets you group your friends by category Allows you to send messages to multiple

friends or groups of friends Lets you create multiple groups and fan pages

for your business

Facebook Fan Page

Facebook Group Page

Biznik

Localized communities Allows members to set up events, promote them

on the site, and even collects the admission for you

Encourages members to post articles and host events

Encourages members to rate articles and events Encourages members to refer other members Free and paid membership levels

TweetDeck

HootSuite

Google Results