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.