Social Networking with Training Wheels
By John Jantsch
Look, I don't really think that the
mySpaces and Facebooks of the world
are that important for the typical small
business as they stand today. There may
be very practical business reasons
for some to actually use these and other,
what are called social networks,
for business gain, but most people that have jumped on the social network
bandwagon have found themselves left with a "is this all there is" kind of feeling.
To those I say this, the value of the current public social networks for business folks is
not what you can get out of them for gain today, but what you can learn by using them
for practical gain tomorrow.
The Facebooks of the world are busy teaching millions and millions of business folks
how social networks work, how social networking works, how shared applications can
be viral and ever-present. The real payoff in my opinion is that the wave to come after
the Facebook bubble bursts is the "personalized business network." Once everyone of
your customers and prospects knows how to use what are easily replicatable social
networking tools, like building profiles, sharing video and connecting based on
mutual interests, your job of building your own social business network around your
own very specific community of niche will get a whole lot easier.
2008 will be the year of the personalized social business network. So, if you've
decided to take a pass on the whole social networking trend, I would suggest that you
use this handy list to start learning to ride this bike with the training wheels on.
Ten ways to get started with Social Networking.
1) Read 10 blogs -- sign-up for a Bloglines account and search for and subscribe to 10
blogs about social networking - you can return daily to your page on Bloglines to find
and read all the new content on your 10. Of course you can add blogs about your
industry and interests here too.
2) Comment on 10 blogs -- posting relevant comments to blogs you read is a very
simple form of social networking. It's also a good way to get some extra visitors your
site or blog.
3) Join Facebook -- Join and create a profile. Find and friend some of your existing
contacts using tools on Facebook. You'll be surprised how many people you already
know have Facebook accounts. Facebook has some real value for you because of the
rich set of tools and large amount of active users. This is a great place to experiment
with how people interact in social networks. Once you get your feet wet you may also
find that Facebook is a great way to connect with business contacts you may never
bump into otherwise.
4) Create a mySpace page -- this service is really embraced primarily by musicians
and the younger set. It also happens to have a large underbelly contingent so be
warned, but it is a great tool for learning how to build a presence outside of your web
site.
5) Join LinkedIn -- this is a service that's been called Facebook for business. It is really
about meeting and connecting with like-minded business folks. It is a great service for
people looking for a job or to make connections with people who may be out of reach
without an introduction.
6) Visit Ning -- this is the largest custom social networking service that allows you to
create your own community using a variety of tools that can be branded to match your
current site.
7) Create a Workbench profile - this one's a little self-serving as this is my new social
business networking site but it's a good example of the personalized business
community that's the next wave for small business.
8) Create a Twitter account -- this tool is pretty silly on the surface, it allows you to
type in 160 characters or less what you are doing right now. It feels like a giant waste
of time but a very large and active community has grown around this kind of
micro-blogging and you should understand how people are using it.
9) Create a StumbledUpon profile -- This is a social network built around discovering
and recommending sites that you like. Active stumblers can send a lot of traffic your
way
10) Create a Digg account -- this site allows you to keep up to the minute with what's
happening in the world of business. Users submit and vote on what is believed to be
the most important content.
You might also consider Mixx, Squidoo and Flikr as places to find and develop niche
related communities when you're ready to really get out there.
Think of mySpace, LinkedIn and Facebook as your labs - get in there and experiment
for the future. then start planning your own personalized social business network.
About the author: John Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning blogger and author
of Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide. You can
find more information by visiting Duct Tape Marketing
By John Jantsch
Look, I don't really think that the
mySpaces and Facebooks of the world
are that important for the typical small
business as they stand today. There may
be very practical business reasons
for some to actually use these and other,
what are called social networks,
for business gain, but most people that have jumped on the social network
bandwagon have found themselves left with a "is this all there is" kind of feeling.
To those I say this, the value of the current public social networks for business folks is
not what you can get out of them for gain today, but what you can learn by using them
for practical gain tomorrow.
The Facebooks of the world are busy teaching millions and millions of business folks
how social networks work, how social networking works, how shared applications can
be viral and ever-present. The real payoff in my opinion is that the wave to come after
the Facebook bubble bursts is the "personalized business network." Once everyone of
your customers and prospects knows how to use what are easily replicatable social
networking tools, like building profiles, sharing video and connecting based on
mutual interests, your job of building your own social business network around your
own very specific community of niche will get a whole lot easier.
2008 will be the year of the personalized social business network. So, if you've
decided to take a pass on the whole social networking trend, I would suggest that you
use this handy list to start learning to ride this bike with the training wheels on.
Ten ways to get started with Social Networking.
1) Read 10 blogs -- sign-up for a Bloglines account and search for and subscribe to 10
blogs about social networking - you can return daily to your page on Bloglines to find
and read all the new content on your 10. Of course you can add blogs about your
industry and interests here too.
2) Comment on 10 blogs -- posting relevant comments to blogs you read is a very
simple form of social networking. It's also a good way to get some extra visitors your
site or blog.
3) Join Facebook -- Join and create a profile. Find and friend some of your existing
contacts using tools on Facebook. You'll be surprised how many people you already
know have Facebook accounts. Facebook has some real value for you because of the
rich set of tools and large amount of active users. This is a great place to experiment
with how people interact in social networks. Once you get your feet wet you may also
find that Facebook is a great way to connect with business contacts you may never
bump into otherwise.
4) Create a mySpace page -- this service is really embraced primarily by musicians
and the younger set. It also happens to have a large underbelly contingent so be
warned, but it is a great tool for learning how to build a presence outside of your web
site.
5) Join LinkedIn -- this is a service that's been called Facebook for business. It is really
about meeting and connecting with like-minded business folks. It is a great service for
people looking for a job or to make connections with people who may be out of reach
without an introduction.
6) Visit Ning -- this is the largest custom social networking service that allows you to
create your own community using a variety of tools that can be branded to match your
current site.
7) Create a Workbench profile - this one's a little self-serving as this is my new social
business networking site but it's a good example of the personalized business
community that's the next wave for small business.
8) Create a Twitter account -- this tool is pretty silly on the surface, it allows you to
type in 160 characters or less what you are doing right now. It feels like a giant waste
of time but a very large and active community has grown around this kind of
micro-blogging and you should understand how people are using it.
9) Create a StumbledUpon profile -- This is a social network built around discovering
and recommending sites that you like. Active stumblers can send a lot of traffic your
way
10) Create a Digg account -- this site allows you to keep up to the minute with what's
happening in the world of business. Users submit and vote on what is believed to be
the most important content.
You might also consider Mixx, Squidoo and Flikr as places to find and develop niche
related communities when you're ready to really get out there.
Think of mySpace, LinkedIn and Facebook as your labs - get in there and experiment
for the future. then start planning your own personalized social business network.
About the author: John Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning blogger and author
of Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide. You can
find more information by visiting Duct Tape Marketing
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