How social networking will boost for your bottom line.

Social networking sites have become a media darling in recent years. It seems as though you can’t watch the news without seeing a newsworthy Facebook profile or watch an interview without a live stream from Twitter scrolling in the margin. For those of us that blog and tweet, updating your status about your opinion of your team's latest trade might appeal to you. However, if you are not a participant in the social networking revolution then this overexposure can be extremely annoying and lack any relevance to your life.  Not so, if you happen to be a small business owner. 
 

Gaining Fans on Facebook

Facebook is a social networking site made up of individuals' profiles.  Profiles contain details about a person including age, gender, geography, interests, groups, and of course their Facebook “friends.” Facebook profiles also contain the pages a user is a fan of.  Creating a page for your business or organization on Facebook requires only a Facebook account and time, which makes it a low risk effort.

After creating a page for your business, you will want to search out customers and business contacts from your friend list and suggest that they “Become a Fan” of your page. These people can also suggest your page to their friends. The trick to an organizational Facebook page is to keep people engaged and updated. Periodically suggesting the page to new friends and adding content to the page about upcoming events, announcements and the like will accomplish this. Using the page as a forum to go out and make one-on-one contacts with your customers is also a great idea.
 

Gaining a following on Twitter

Twitter, in many ways, is similar to Facebook.  Both involve establishing links to others. They differ in that a Facebook is profile driven, while Twitter is driven by the distribution of messages. Facebook has “friending” while Twitter has “following.” When you “follow” someone on Twitter, it means that their messages will be delivered to your Twitter page. Creating a Twitter account for your business is just as simple as a Facebook group or profile. 

In order to make your Twitter account reach out to your customer base you will need to send “tweets” (Twitter messages of 140 characters or less) periodically. This requires a more ongoing investment than a Facebook page, which may remain static for long periods of time. This investment has its reward; messages are immediately fed to your followers and are often fed directly to their cell phones. This gives you immediate access to engage your customers and alert them of news or timely offers.

Making business contacts on LinkedIn

If Facebook and Twitter doesn’t fit your business because your target demographic does not tweet – fear not. You haven’t missed out on the free marketing and exposure of the social networking scene.  LinkedIn may be your social networking solution. LinkedIn is driven by profiles much like Facebook, save a major difference;  Where Facebook profiles and pages may have a theme that trends toward more informal social interaction, LinkedIn is themed exclusively around professional credentials and relationships. 

A LinkedIn profile reads very much like a resume of sorts. By establishing links to customers and business partners, CEOs and business owners can gain exposure for their business. Social networking certainly isn’t a good fit for marketing all businesses. Nevertheless, the low investment of time and dollars required to experiment with social networking makes a trial venture a small risk with potentially large reward for your business.

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