Impacts Of Social Networking Sites To Your Business And Others

Impacts Of Social Networking Sites To Your Business And Others

Introduction

Social networking was a term that I've heard about occasionally but I really had no clue what it really was. I had heard the term social networking a few months earlier, but I had no idea what it really meant. Social networking sites are places where people can go online to meet other people and create their own "friend" list. Social networking websites allow members to create its profile by filling all the essential personal information. These websites are being used regularly by millions of people, and it now seems that social networking will be an enduring part of everyday life. In addition, these sites help people connect with others who share their interests, build online profiles and share media such as photos, music and videos.

It's part of a series on Web 2. Other components of Web 2.0 include but not limited to what is mentioned are forums, directory of articles, ezines, press releases, online classified ads, auction sites, and blogs. Social networking sites such as MySpace are among the most visited sites on the planet. Thes websites function like an online community of internet users. Social networking sites make these connections between people visible. It isn't just for teens, and adults are joining virtual communities in increasing numbers. Social networking is getting more and more popular in bringing together friends and people who share same concept or ideas by means of interacting online like never before, such as real relationships, romance, friendships and more. It's the place for you and can be an extremely valuable tool on many levels.

Running A Business

Social networking plays a key role in running a business. No matter what the type of information is, personal or commercial, it can be passed on through social networking sites. Social networking has created powerful new ways to communicate and share information. Social networking began to flourish as a component of business internet strategy at around March 2005 when Yahoo launched Yahoo. Social networking sites compete for attention much like the first Web portals when the Internet exploded onto the scene in the mid-1990s. Social networking sites are also great from attraction marketing. Social networking is the practice of expanding the number of one's business and/or social contacts by making connections through individuals. Social networking sites, video sites and blogs are great for personal branding. Social networking services offer more than just a popular place to have your own business advertised. You don’t want to forcefully market on social networking sites, that’s not the point. It would be better when you can boil down social networking to the context of a specific niche, like a site to exchange Mexican recipes or talk about Ferrari car accessories or business opportunities in Central Asia. In part, this may be because social networking is a relatively new service, and the value of using them has not been firmly established in customers' minds.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

From the SEO standpoint of view, you can also accumulate more backlinks and subsequently more traffic to your social networking site. Several websites are beginning to tap into the power of the social networking model for social good. How MySpace, Facebook and all therest of the big social networking sites can send tons of fresh trafficto your site. The main types of social networking services are those which contain directories of some categories (such as former classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages), and recommender systems linked to trust. By 2005, one social networking service MySpace, was reportedly getting more page views than Google, with Facebook, a competitor, rapidly growing in size. An increasing number of academic commentators are becoming interested in studying Facebook and other social networking tools. One example of social networking being used for business purposes is LinkedIn.

Web 2.0

Social networking is among the components included in Web 2.0 but not limited to what is mentioned are forums, directory of articles, ezines, press releases, online classified ads, auction sites, and blogs.The secret weapon of many successful online marketers is Web 2. Many marketers are still unaware of the advantages of using Web 2. Website traffic is changing due to the increased user interest in Web 2. Web sites dedicated to social networking include Friendster, Linkedin, Spoke, and Tribe Networks. Talking of social networks Digg, Stumble Upon and Propeller are the best places to get started with Web 2. As an advertising tool, articles are far above the ground designed to draw visitors to your website. In fact, experts say that the greatest money making schemes on the web are in Web 2. Professional web designers know techniques that will throw up your pages in the search engines. They will also give you ideas of how to market your website both on and offline so that you always have visitors. I kept close examination of everything I'd done to make a drastic difference to my website traffic. Even if you've already launched your website or product, it's never too late to start your Web 2.

Trouble Driving Traffic

Traffic is the lifeblood of an online business. If you're having trouble driving traffic, social networking is something you want to look into. Traffic that is highly targeted to your market. Traffic is the one thing that everyone needs. A website without traffic is of no use. This is very important if a business wants to generate more traffic and potential customers in a short period of time. Digg’s Alexa traffic ranking is below 200. StumbleUpon has its traffic ranking under 300 and Propeller has its ranking under 2000. News and blogs are the most important of the elements to attract visitors, and traffic with them. Even if you assume that a relatively high percentage of your traffic will convert, you'll need hundreds of viewers to make any launch cost-effective. These days, it seems that the most realistic goal to have is that your marketing effort will drive enough traffic so that you don't lose money. With normal traffic driving conversion percentages, a 5% CTR would be considered very high. Find out exactly how you start driving traffic today.

Here are the rankings of the Top 25 most visited websites on the Internet according to Alexa:

1. Yahoo.com
2. Google.com
3. YouTube.com
4. Windows Live (live.com)
5. Facebook.com
6. MSN.com
7. Myspace.com
8. wikipedia.org
9. blogger.com (or blogspot.com)
10. Yahoo.com.jp
11. baidu.com
12. rapidshare.com
13. microsoft.com
14. Google India (google.co.in)
15. Google Germany (google.de)
16. Hi5 (www.hi5.com)
17. QQ (www.qq.com)
18. eBay (ebay.com)
19. Orkut (orkut.com.br)
20. Google France (www.google.fr)
21. Sina (www.sina.com.cn) (In Mandarin-Chinese)
22. www.mail.ru (Russian)
23. America Online (aol.com)
24. Google UK (www.google.co.uk)
25. FC2 (www.fc2.com)

Other websites that may be of relevance:

28. Wordpress (www.wordpress.com)
30. Flickr (www.flickr.com)
31. Photobucket (www.photobucket.com)
32. Amazon (www.amazon.com)
38. Craigslist (www.craigslist.org)
39. Friendster (www.friendster.com)
50. Imageshack (www.imageshack.us)
61. Ask.com

This would at least give you an idea where you should expose your business through your business website. Your business doesn't exist if it's not found on any of the applicable sites. In fact, your business doesn't exist if it isn't in neither Google or Yahoo's search engines.

Marketing

Marketing to your list will increase your profits many times over. If you are into affiliate marketing, or promote your own products through Clickbank, you won’t want to miss the boat. The goal of any marketing effort is to create a buzz that is so strong, that the very foundations of the Internet will shake, but let's face it, that almost never happens. These days, it seems that the most realistic goal to have is that your marketing effort will drive enough traffic so that you don't lose money. Imagine being able to tap into networks of thousands of people who share very specific interests (In Internet Marketing, we call these groups: "Niches") quickly and effortlessly? Using Social Media in your online marketing isn't about getting on MySpace, Squidoo, Craigslist or any other Web 2.0-based sites. In fact, it's nice to have it all organized in the way that you've done, otherwise the marketing can be a bit overwhelming.

Internet marketing will never be the same once you know how to effectively advertise your site with these profitable Web 2.0 sites. I see great value in social networking as a component of the marketing mix. Now if you are promoting and marketing products online, you know that TRAFFIC (or visitors) is the life-line of your onlline business. Yes it takes time but you can get high quality, low volume traffic from when trying social marketing.

Marketing on social networks is a good way to build your warm market list. You don't have to have a list per say, unlike using landing pages, but nowadays, whenever you post an article on your profile e.g. MySpace, Facebook, or Friendster, your friends get noticed of what you did.

Blogs

Blogs are great traffic generators that you can use to grow your business. Blogs are very popular right now and they can be a great and inexpensive way to contact more customers. Blogs allow you to upload images, create links, and allow users to make comments. Blogs are a great way to generate keyword-rich content, especially if you update your blogs each day. Blog software makes creating a blog almost automatic while the spiders on search engines seem to favour high-quality and often updated keyword-rich blogs. Blogging software makes the writing and publishing process easier, but responding to reader comments, finding time to write regularly, and creating links and multimedia components can take some time. Blogging creates community, so that if you link to others sites, they are also likely to link to yours. Blogging, music, videos and photo albums are a big part of what makes a good social networking site into a great social networking site. Blogging requires that you move forward at all times. Blogging is a big part of my branding strategy, so when I network online, I invite people to visit my blog, read, comment and register or subscribe. Blog and Blog and when you get done Blogging, Blog some more. Bloggers do seem more sociable, for some reason, and I suppose if you’re interested in someone else’s writing it’s only natural to want to share it. Blogs have become one of the hottest communication tools on the Web. Blogs have extended their reach and applications into the corporate and government sectors as well. If you are already blogging, posting and networking and not seeing any great results than it's because you might be doing things only 90% right. Here are just a few of the important things you'll learn:The right way to start a blog and how to configure it to gain high search engine positions and to grow your readership quickly and easily. Set up a simple blog through Wordpress or Blogger. Learn from other bloggers with high traffic blogs and see whether you can also do the same for your blog.

Conclusion

Social networking has created powerful new ways to communicate and share information. Social networking websites are being used regularly by millions of people, and it now seems that social networking will be an enduring part of everyday life. Social networking sites compete for attention much like the first Web portals when the Internet exploded onto the scene in the mid-1990s. Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace give scam artists and virus writers new ways to package tried-but-true tricks. Social networking isn't just for teens, and adults are joining virtual communities in increasing numbers. Social networking sites are places where people can go online to meet other people and create their own "friend" list. Social networking sites are meant for online social networking and not for advertising or spamming. Social networking sites, video sites and blogs are great for personal branding. Social networking services offer more than just a popular place to have your own business advertised. From the SEO standpoint of view, you can also accumulate more backlinks and subsequently more traffic to your social networking site. While social networking has gone on almost as long as societies themselves have existed, the unparalleled potential of the Internet to promote such connections is only now being fully recognized and exploited, through Web-based groups established for that purpose. Joining a bunch of social networking sites should jump start your web presence. I join a wide range of social networking sites. I invite people I like on one social networking site to connect with me on another site. Possibly the most important online social networking strategy is to be consistent and follow through, not to expect instant results. Althoughsocial networking is possible in person, especially in schools or in the workplace, it is most popular online. The friends that you can make are just one of the many benefitsto social networking online. Another one of those benefitsincludes diversity because the internet gives individuals fromall around the world access to social networking sites. Thankfully, there are social networking sites who get out of their way to ensure that their services are safe for children, and even for parents as well. Facebook, MySpace, Hi5,Friendster, Orkut and Bebo are six of the top major social networking site as of comScore’s June statistics.

The Perfect Business

What makes the perfect business?

Well before I jump to that conclusion, what I would like to clarify is to make it the perfect biz, you would have to virtually have no expenses and make a whole lot of money making other people's lives better for almost nothing. That's not really the case here. For those of you who have small businesses and want to improve their standing, you have to take it a level further and you can only do that by learning the various methods that can bring people to your website.

In this article, I will mention the reasons why you need to learn some of these topics and what kinds of problems it will solve when you have trouble driving website traffic.

Posting on the free online classifieds like Craigslist, Backpage, and Kijiji.

Generating traffic using MySpace, Facebook, Digg, Squidoo, Ezines, Press Releases, and any website that provides expiring links.

Generating traffic using Google Adwords

Personal development - How you change your mindset from what you have now to what you need to have being an internet marketer

Posting On Craigslist

In pay per click, Google AdWords is the king, but in the online classifieds, Craigslist is the king.

Craigslist gets 8 billion hits every month. That's way more than what local newspapers would get, so why put your ad on a local newspaper that charges an arm and a leg to put an ad when in the first place, you can simply put an ad for free.

However, posting on Craigslist is not that simple. For example, if you put an ad in there and if a banned keyword in your content matches the ones in their filter, your ad doesn't go up. That means that if you have the keyword "craigslist" in the content of your ad and it matches their filter, it doesn't go live. If it has a keyword such as "c.r.a.i.gli.st" and it doesn't have a filter that matches this word, your ad may go up.

Also, if you're using an email address to post 20 ads, you may be able to get away with it, but since you can assume that it is logged, you may have to refrain from using that same email address. Simply using another email address will resolve the email address limit.

If you're using an Internet connection with a single IP address, Craigslist may log that address as well. If so, you must find a way to switch your IP address or your ads may not go live because of it. As long as you have a tool that changes your IP address, you should do fine. Wireless broadband cards work well as far as changing IP addresses.

Your best bet is to be able to change the content, your email address, and your ip address. If you have all combinations, you have a better chance of getting your ads to go up.

There are some tools that you can use to maximize your posting efforts. However, I strongly suggest that you know your way around the online site you desire to advertise.

I won't promise that you'll get some sales. It depends on how your write your ad.

No promises that your ad will stay up. Anyone can remove your ad and there's nothing you can do about it. What's your best bet? Simply repost your ad.

The same concept goes with Backpage and Kijiji.


Now On To Web 2.0

What is this deal with Web 2.0?

When I first heard about it, I never got it. It was pure jargon to me. Yes, I did say, so what, what's in it for me.

I was taught by several internet marketers that you must provide the benefits for the products/service you sell. Otherwise, your sales campaign is put to a halt. If you can't explain what your product does, you won't be able to get to second base with your prospective buyer.

So let me tell you what I know about Web 2.0.

Social networking sites, e-zines, blogs, press releases, and yes, Craigslist are classified as Web 2.0 technologies.

Social networking sites - these are ways you can build your warm market. Myspace, Facebook, and Friendster are good examples of social networking sites. You meet other people and you tell them about yourself, the who, what, why, when, where, how, or whatever else applies to you.

You use it to build relationships. By building relationships with these people, you also build trust. When you build trust, one day, someone they know will find a need for your product/service. Guess what, your name will be the first one that will come up. Because you have built a relationship with your contacts, they may provide you with a referral.

This is how you can generate your sales, thorugh referral marketing.

Don't forget Digg and Squidoo. These sites are used to recommend articles to those who have accounts. Links that go through both sites are indexed by Google.

To make a long story short, you use social networking to build your warm market.

E-Zines - This is sort of like a magazine, except that it's online. It could be in the form of a web page or it could be part of an Adobe Acrobat file.

It's an alternative to sending out a paper copy of the same magazine. For example, when I was working for the federal government, I was getting a copy of the Federal Computing Magazine on paper, then they added the option of providing an electronic copy of it in the Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Yes, it can be in the form of a web page that primarily go on e-zine websites.

The benefit of an e-zine is they are indexed by Google because they believe it provides value to the reader. Since Google will give priority ranking to web pages that provide valuable information, assuming that it's optimized for a keyword, e-zines are search engine friendly.

All you have to do is write articles about what products/services you market. However, you also want to be able to provide information about the who, what, why, where, when, and how the product has an impact on who's going to use it.

When you write up your articles, you must make sure that it follows a particular pattern.

Blogs - Blogs are Web pages which are updated frequently, written from the point of view of an individual, written in an informal tone, and usually expose an RSS feed for syndication.

Blogs provide another convenient avenue for writing about personal experiences. They often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life or works of art.

Either used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a corporation or externally for marketing, branding or public relations purposes are called corporate blogs.

They are porous to the world of texts and facts and opinions on line. In addition, they grab whatever they want with impunity—news, gossip, pictures, videos.

As far as ranking is concern, they are given rankings by Technorati based on the number of incoming links and Alexa Internet based on the Web hits of Alexa Toolbar users.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic.

There are many different types of blogs, differing not only in the type of content, but also in the way that content is delivered or written. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an extensive following.

As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs.

Press Releases - Do you use online press releases for your marketing promotion or to send out a word about your latest product announcements. Do you know the real power of press releases. However if you have a blog and a PRweb account, you should definitely try to make a blog post about one of the press releases and check this out. I have been using press releases regularly for creating a buzz, announcing new products or services and getting strong incoming links to improve the organic search rankings. One of the ways is to issue press releases when there are notable developments in the company. Please note: Content of press releases is accurate as of release date.

Because press releases are date sensitive, Google indexes press releases to give articles classified as new developments priority in the search engine ranking, thus it's search engine friendly.

Google AdWords

Google AdWords ads connect you with new customers at the precise moment when they're looking for your products or services. With Google AdWords you can reach people when they are actively looking for your products and services. You create your own ads, choose keywords to tell us where to show your ads and pay only when someone clicks on them.

It's one of the most effective ways to do just that. In addition, it also provides advertisers with number of useful tools like geographic targeting, negative match, dayparting, keyword tool, ads diagnostic tool and other useful tools for efficient management of campaigns.

The first engine to charge advertiser on a formula dependent on quality score and maximum bid price.

If you want your website to have presence on Google, Adwords is a quick and simple way to purchase highly targeted cost-per-click (CPC) advertising, regardless of your budget.

You can have a complete control on your ppc campaign, making advertising easier. If your goal is to build visibility on search engines quickly, then Google AdWords is an essential option to explore.

It is worthwhile for anyone to open a Google AdWords account and experiment with how paid listings may help drive traffic to a site, or use the service as a keyword research tool.

Learn to use the Google AdWords Keyword Tool to your advantage Maximize existing and familiar keywords--and remove negative search phrases Increase conversion rates and determine which traffic-tracking methods are right for you systematically test ad copy and develop a plan for ongoing keyword discovery.

Based on your marketing budget, you can adjust your ad campaign based on the ROI data you collect.

It can help you gain new customers and retain customer loyalty through smart ad copy and personalization.

Zoom ahead of your competitors by using AdWords rapid feedback cycles filter out inappropriate or irrelevant prospects through the use of negative keywords, exact and phrase searches.

To maximize every penny you spend on Google Adwords, it's critical to have a highly structured campaign tailored to your specific business model, your specific target market, and your specific keyword phrase industry. If you're ready to spend less and make more money with your Google Adwords campaign, we can quickly show you, and teach you, how to maximize every dollar you spend with Google Adwords.

With great traffic, Google AdWords is today the most preferred brand for advertisers to start sponsored ad campaigns. It is a highly recommended Pay Per Click service which can be used to drive targeted traffic towards your site. Done right, Google Adwords might possible be the most effective marketing tool anywhere. When you create a Google AdWords ad, you choose keywords for which your ad will appear and specify the maximum amount you're willing to pay for each click.

Ready to learn the Google Adwords system? Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords and over 170,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle, Amazon's new wireless reading device. AdWords For Dummies is slightly more for beginners (as is typical for The Dummies Series), while the "Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords" is more advanced.

Want a great start in getting your business to take off? Learn how to dominate your competition by learning the art of Google AdWords as a means of assisting you with solving your problems increasing website traffic.

Remodel Your Mind

In order to succeed in Internet Marketing, you must understand the obstacles you will run into. Changes in outside forces is something we don't have control with, but we shouldn't drop dead because we're blindsided with a change in any of those business forces, like the barriers to entry. One example is Craigslist implementation of phone verified accounts on both the For Sale and the Services Categories. Seems like everyone decides to punt when this came into play.

Today we can Remodel Your Mind for a better day. When you learn something better, your remodel your mind and either delete that which didn't serve, or file it someplace, in case you might need it again, used in good intent.

In conclusion, including these modules as part of your personal development allows you to better the health of your business. It doesn't matter whether you market on the free online classifieds, use pay-per-click, specifically AdWords, Web 2.0, or train yourself to a more business mindset. Although these modules will help put your business in the right direction, it's your will and desire to do the work, have a better handle of the forces outside your business, and a system that allows you to accomplish your business tasks.

Only then, you would get your business as close to being the perfect business.

Keywords:

perfect business, online classifieds, trouble driving website traffic, generating traffic, remodel your mind, web 2.0, social networking sites, ezines, e-zines, pay-per-click, build relationships, press releases

Marketing On Craigslist In The Jobs Category

I just want to let you know that Craigslist has implemented (October 15, 2008) paid sections across the board on the Jobs category in the following cities:

• Atlanta
• Austin
• Dallas
• Denver
  
• Houston
• Miami
  
• Philadelphia
• Phoenix

Craigslist charges $25 per post when posting in any area of the Jobs category (starting October 15, 2008). If you're planning on posting in this category, plan accordingly.

If you're still planning to post and can't afford to pay the $25 per post, I suggest you post in other categories or other cities.

There is a better way of handling this situation without breaking the rules of Craigslist and you can still get some good traffic.

I can help you in your marketing efforts by training you in various avenues on how to promote your product/service. Just fill out the form on http://www.getkickbuttpay.com and I'll try to reply to you soonest. You can also call me at 805-754-2736 and leave a message.