THE SECRETS OF MARKETING VIA SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES - Part 6

WHAT ABOUT OTHER POSSIBILITIES WITHIN SOCIAL NETWORKING?

The phrase social networking automatically makes you think of websites like MySpace. But in truth, you can network online in other ways as well.

For example, think about YouTube. It’s not strictly a networking site but you CAN network on it by filming short videos on your chosen subject. People can follow you and subscribe to the videos you make, so it can still be a good place to connect with people who have the same interests as you.

Squidoo is another one that comes to mind.Some people do rank this as a social networking site, but to me, it is so much more. You can get plenty of fans and followers here for the free web pages you can build, so it is worth joining and experimenting with building different pages about your business and various different aspects of it.

And hey, maybe you could build a page on the benefits of social networking? If you do, make sure you add all your widgets and badges to it, so people can see where they can follow you. Squidoo is a very responsive site and it’s not that difficult to gain a following there if you put some effort in.

Basically, any website that is interactive can be used to further your internet marketing efforts. You just need to remember to use the personal approach rather than a business one.

CONCLUSION –WHY DO SOCIAL NETWORKING AND MARKETING WORK WELL TOGETHER?

There are probably lots of reasons for this if you really dug down deep into it. But in my opinion, there is only one that really matters. It’s that people are introduced to you as well as your business – and that breaks down the biggest barrier that exists online today.

Being able to sell stuff all around the world is a huge bonus. But not being able to see people face to face can be a huge downside. Similarly, being able to set up an online business on a shoestring is a huge bonus… and not being able to fully convince people you are legit is an equally big downside.

And that’s where social networking comes in. The very fact that many of these sites don’t like you to promote your business blatantly actually does us all a huge favor. It forces us to get creative and engage with our potential customers in a much more active way. And in the end, that can only be a good thing.

It’s also the case that the people who are going on these sites are going there with a social mindset. They are social networking sites, after all. They aren’t going there to find products. They’re not going there to be sold anything either, even though some of the sites do have adverts of varying kinds on their pages.

They’re going there to meet up with like-minded people and share experiences and knowledge. This means that if you can get into the same mindset, you stand a great chance of connecting with them and building the trust that is so vital for all businesses to establish online. They’re not expecting a hard sell, so if you don’t give try to hard-sell them, they may well end up buying something from you through choice in the future.

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? And yet there are plenty of marketers out there today who beg to differ.

So make sure you persevere and establish a profile and a presence on the sites that matter. And you will find that the audience you seek will start coming to find you.