Social Networking For Your Business
April 24, 2008
Source: The Merchandise Group
Everyone's doing it. If it's not a Facebook profile, it's MySpace, LinkedIn or Ning. Social networking has become one of the hottest ways to connect via the Internet. Businesses everywhere have also discovered the benefits, either advertising directly on social networking sites or by creating their own profiles to establish a stronger web presence and connect with customers.
Reston, Va.-based ComScore Inc. recently reported a major surge in visitors to social networking sites. Facebook has more than 100.7 million visitors alone, while MySpace boasts 109.3 million. Some analysts predict that advertising revenue for these sites could grow as much as 69 percent over the next three years. And New York-based EMarketer Inc. predicts that advertising spending on social networks could grow to $2.7 billion by 2011.
Add to that the recent collaboration by major Internet players to further the development and reach of social networking sites, and it becomes apparent that social networking has no where to go but up. Mountain View, Calif.-based Google Inc. created the OpenSocial network in late March 2008, with the support of its main rival Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo! Inc., and popular social networking sites such as, MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Friendster and Ning. According to Google, the OpenSocial network will allow developers to place their programs on more networking sites. In addition, Google created a foundation to monitor OpenSocial.
"The foundation...will seek to ensure that the technology behind OpenSocial remains implementable by all, freely and without restriction, in perpetuity," said a statement on the Google Web site. "The establishment of the foundation is a necessary and exciting next step toward an open model for application syndication via an increasingly socially-enabled Internet."
The "socially-enabled Internet," is quickly becoming the biggest thing to happen to the Internet since it began more than a decade ago. Small businesses do well to become part of the social networking revolution. With a unified front, courtesy of Google, social networking sites will only become more sophisticated and necessary in today's wired world.
Businesses should begin by first checking out the most popular social networking sites to see which user demographic and format best suits their company. MySpace caters to a younger crowd and originally started as way to connect musicians with fans. Today, profiles consist of everything from restaurants, bars, entrepreneurs, authors, cafes and the like. Facebook is more of the same, while LinkedIn is geared towards professionals.
Once a business has established which site best fits their needs, the next step is to create an online profile. After pictures have been added, along with pertinent information, such as store location and contact information; networking becomes the main focus. Users can start by inviting customers off of the company email list to become their "friend" and to pass on their profile to others who may benefit from it. Many spend hours on these sites sending out friend requests to build their platform, and thus, customer reach.
After a solid profile has been established, a social networking site can be used for a variety of purposes, such as special online offers, to promote new products, to invite customers to events and also to field any questions about the company. Many social networking sites also offer blogging capabilities and bulletin posts as a way to reach a greater audience.
Social networking is definitely here to stay, which is why joining the revolution is an important step for any businesses growth.
Social Networking For Your Business
April 24, 2008
Source: The Merchandise Group
Everyone's doing it. If it's not a Facebook profile, it's MySpace, LinkedIn or Ning. Social networking has become one of the hottest ways to connect via the Internet. Businesses everywhere have also discovered the benefits, either advertising directly on social networking sites or by creating their own profiles to establish a stronger web presence and connect with customers.
Reston, Va.-based ComScore Inc. recently reported a major surge in visitors to social networking sites. Facebook has more than 100.7 million visitors alone, while MySpace boasts 109.3 million. Some analysts predict that advertising revenue for these sites could grow as much as 69 percent over the next three years. And New York-based EMarketer Inc. predicts that advertising spending on social networks could grow to $2.7 billion by 2011.
Add to that the recent collaboration by major Internet players to further the development and reach of social networking sites, and it becomes apparent that social networking has no where to go but up. Mountain View, Calif.-based Google Inc. created the OpenSocial network in late March 2008, with the support of its main rival Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo! Inc., and popular social networking sites such as, MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Friendster and Ning. According to Google, the OpenSocial network will allow developers to place their programs on more networking sites. In addition, Google created a foundation to monitor OpenSocial.
"The foundation...will seek to ensure that the technology behind OpenSocial remains implementable by all, freely and without restriction, in perpetuity," said a statement on the Google Web site. "The establishment of the foundation is a necessary and exciting next step toward an open model for application syndication via an increasingly socially-enabled Internet."
The "socially-enabled Internet," is quickly becoming the biggest thing to happen to the Internet since it began more than a decade ago. Small businesses do well to become part of the social networking revolution. With a unified front, courtesy of Google, social networking sites will only become more sophisticated and necessary in today's wired world.
Businesses should begin by first checking out the most popular social networking sites to see which user demographic and format best suits their company. MySpace caters to a younger crowd and originally started as way to connect musicians with fans. Today, profiles consist of everything from restaurants, bars, entrepreneurs, authors, cafes and the like. Facebook is more of the same, while LinkedIn is geared towards professionals.
Once a business has established which site best fits their needs, the next step is to create an online profile. After pictures have been added, along with pertinent information, such as store location and contact information; networking becomes the main focus. Users can start by inviting customers off of the company email list to become their "friend" and to pass on their profile to others who may benefit from it. Many spend hours on these sites sending out friend requests to build their platform, and thus, customer reach.
After a solid profile has been established, a social networking site can be used for a variety of purposes, such as special online offers, to promote new products, to invite customers to events and also to field any questions about the company. Many social networking sites also offer blogging capabilities and bulletin posts as a way to reach a greater audience.
Social networking is definitely here to stay, which is why joining the revolution is an important step for any businesses growth.
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