If you could find a way to navigate the maze of social media and social networking sites, and use them to promote your business online, would you try them? Most people would like to, but the sheer volume of sites can be intimidating. This article will share the results of an online poll of Social Media and Social Networking site users, and why these people use each site.
The sites mentioned were: Ryze, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Plurk, YouTube, TubeMogul, Blip.tv, Flickr, FriendFeed, Utterli, StumbleUpon, TrafficGuyser, Ecademy, Xing, SocialMedian and MySpace. For time’s sake, we will focus on the sites that multiple people used, and were free.
1) Twitter (Twitter.com): This was the winner, with the most people using it. Not only is it the simplest and least threatening tool to use, it has many other offshoots that can make using it even easier. There are twitter-based sites that allow you to upload video (Twiddeo) and pictures (TwitPic) and post them on Twitter. You can search through posts (search.twitter) and people (Twellow) and find subjects and experts to follow.
The thing people like the most about Twitter is how short the posts are and how clean the interface is. There’s really only 2 things to do: write a post and read other people’s posts. You can only type 140 characters, so you don’t have to panic about what to write about – almost any nugget of information will do. You can also reply to other people’s “tweets” and get involved in their conversations.
Most of all, people like the immediacy of Twitter. You can see, up to the second, what everyone you are following is doing. For someone like me, who works virtually and rarely sees other people, it helps me feel a little less isolated and a little more connected. I recommend Twitter to all of my clients and especially social media newbies, because it’s the easiest to use and gets them connected to others immediately.
2) Facebook (Facebook.com): Facebook can be a little more intimidating. It has a lot of options, and can be overwhelming for novices. However, for people not afraid to venture in, or who are comfortable with the online landscape, this was the #1 serious networking site. It will even syndicate (reprint) all of your posts from Twitter, which is very nice for killing a couple of birds with one stone.
People mentioned that they learned much more about their business contacts on Facebook than on LinkedIn. They can pull in their Twitter Feed and their blog posts, so it provides more of a running commentary of what is going on in their life (as opposed to being limited to only 140 characters). You can also have as many “targeted” friends as possible (whereas you can now only follow up to 2,000 people on Twitter).
You can also create and join Facebook groups, so you can connect with people who have similar interests or who may be a potential target market. Avoid “bomber” type programs that allow you to contact 50 or 100 strangers a day automatically – people will think you are spamming them, and you can be blocked at the site.
3) LinkedIn (LinkedIn.com): LinkedIn was mentioned several times. It was referred to as a place where people were more professionally minded, whereas other sites may be much more casual and talk about things other than business. I like LinkedIn for it’s Answers area – you can post a question for everyone to answer, or you can answer someone else’s question. It’s a great way to gain exposure and share your expertise.
4) YouTube (YouTube.com): They won for the social media site because of their sheer traffic volume. However, just because you post on YouTube doesn’t mean a lot of people will see you. They have so many videos, your video can just be a drop in the bucket. So using good keywords when you post your video will help you to draw people who may be interested in your subject matter.
5) TubeMogul (TubeMogul.com): TubeMogul is a site that lets you upload a video one time and then post it to multiple video sites (including YouTube) at one time. Personally, I have found that it is the most powerful tool for online visibility. Many times, I will post a video through TubeMogul and find myself on the first page of Google the next morning for my keywords.
It is somewhat similar to TrafficGuyser, except you don’t have to pay $100 to use it – TubeMogul is FREE. You do have to sign up at the other social media sites in order to post to them, but it is definitely worth the time to get it done.
6) Ping.fm: I want to add Ping.fm to this list, because many people don’t know about it. Similar to TubeMogul, it lets you post 140 character text messages to multiple social networking sites at once. Again, you have to sign up for the individual social networking sites, but it is worth the investment of time to do it. It will post to Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, WordPress blogs, Blogger blogs, and so much more – all for FREE.
7) Utterli: I mention Utterli because it is the only audio-friendly upload site. Everything else uses video. So if you have teleclass recordings, podcasts, audio testimonies, etc. and would like to post them online, Utterli will allow you to upload it and grab an audio player to post on your web site.
My recommendation for novices would be to start with Twitter to get your feet wet and see how social networking works. Then, I would suggest that you sign up for Ping.fm and the other social networking sites it posts to. This way, when you post something, you are getting much more online visibility than simply posting to one site.
Next, sign up for TubeMogul, and start creating short videos to post on its related sites – this will give you incredible search engine ranking assistance. Videos don’t have to be fancy or long. Simple, to the point, and filled with practical tips is the best type to do. Use a slide show video maker to turn a powerpoint presentation into a video, or use a web cam to share some information.
The most important thing is simply to jump in and start using social media and social networking sites. They are the most efficient and least expensive way to promote your business online.
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