Social Networking and Your Home Business
If you have been in business at any time in your life then you have been involved in some type of networking. In decades past it was cocktails or dinner with a client or potential client. Networking has always played a role in marketing a business or business opportunity.
The latest marketing tools, are the social networking sites, such as MySpace, Facebook or the newest Twitter. More than half of all Americans from those in their early teens to those heading for retirement are active on one or more social networking site. More and more individuals are hosting their own blog to talk about themselves, the family or their business.
With technology and software becoming more user friendly, more people are using the Internet to stay connected with family and friends. They are blogging and using social networking sites to meet people around the globe. Individuals are using these sites to learn about products and services. It is similar to talking to friends and family for recommendations for everything from where to have dinner, shop or visit. It’s the “word of mouth” advertising that business crave and need to grow and prosper.
Business and marketers continually look for ways to improve and expand their client base. Social networking sites and blogs provide an avenue for these individuals to learn who their potential clients are on a personal level. You get to know them as individuals first and then as clients. It allows that personal touch which as been missing from business and from corporate America.
To use social networking sites effectively and to grow your business, individuals must remember that words have meaning and impact those reading them. How you use words can directly impact the growth or decline of your business. Many social sites promote a “free wheeling” atmosphere in conversations, therefore caution is advised in your conversations on those sites. It is important to remember that words linger on the Internet long after your “log off” a site. This written word is the presentation you have given of you and your business. It’s how you are representing yourself.
Social networking is about getting to know your potential clients and in turn letting them know who you are and what your business has to offer. It’s that human touch that, we as social creatures crave.
Many traditional marketers underestimate the power that social networking sites and blogs have on consumers. They also underestimate the role that these sites will continue to play in business and with the growth of businesses. With the growth of Blogs, Twitter, Squidoo and other social sites, those with online business or who are contemplating starting an online business must learn how to leverage these social networking sites to their advantage.
While more conventional marketing will continue to play a role in business and a marketing budget, marketers will need to be more fluid in their thinking and in their marketing techniques.
Anthony Funari
http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/social-networking-and-your-home-business-722450.html
4 Responses to “Social Networking and Your Home Business”
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anyone heard of the social networking site second life?
well if you haven’t… it’s basically a site where people can make a character to live in the little fantasy internet world….here’s a description…
Second Life (abbreviated as SL) is a virtual world developed by Linden Lab that launched on June 23, 2003 and is accessible via the Internet. A free client program called the Second Life Viewer enables its users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars. Residents can explore, meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade virtual property and services with one another, or travel throughout the world, which residents refer to as the grid. Second Life caters for users aged over eighteen, while its sister site Teen Second Life is restricted to users aged between thirteen and eighteen.
Second Life has an internal currency, the Linden dollar (L$). (i personally thought this was funny) L$ can be used to trade goods, land and services with other users. Virtual goods include buildings, vehicles, devices of all kinds, animations, clothing, skin, hair, jewelry, flora and fauna, and works of art. Land in Second Life is a valuable and scarce commodity and can be bought, sold or rented. Users may also offer items or services to other users in exchange for L$; services include "camping", working in stores, business management, entertainment (which prominently includes adult entertainment), custom content creation, and other personal services. L$ is usually purchased from other users with real-world currency; Linden Lab and others[1] offer a brokerage service for these transactions. The most popular usage for the exchange of L$ for US$ is in order to pay Second Life’s subscription fees. In spite of attracting large volumes of press coverage, only a very small percentage of Residents derive a net income from the economy.
and apparently you have to pay a monthly fee for owning land…
oooh my gosh!
is this what people’s laziness in this world is resorting to??
people could go out there in the REAL world and get what they want done in life done and strive for their goals. but no.. that seems to be too much work. so they ditch that idea and seek satisfaction from this site? they are too lazy to go out and make a change in their own life… so they sit at home and waste their real life building this fake little fantasy life that will probably never come true because they are to busy creating it…. and what have you accomplished by creating a fantastic life on second life? nothing. absolutly nothing this just makes me sick
please give your comments and/or opinions on this site. or comment on my opinion.
seriously.. i am open to anything… even inform me about this site if you feel like it, tell me off if need be, i am just curious as to what people think about this topic…
I had an account a while back, but it was tough to keep up with, so I quit messing around with it. I didn’t do anything major in there, but it was fun looking at things people created in there and "exploring" a reality where one can create things that behave much differently than in our reality. Lots of really creative people in there … so if you’re not too artsy … you might not get the idea. I think you’re missing the main point which is reflected in the name …. "Second" Life … as in "another life. a variation of your own life or reality". Something you can engage in without changing your real life. Not everyone goes on for the same reasons (as in money or real estate or certain "tangible" things). It’s like playing with your alter ego. Obviously it’s not for everybody. But what is? In Second life, you can pull the plug without losing anything of affecting anyone else. It’s really no different than playing monopoly or whatever. It’s just adding more details and more depth. And more interactivity and connectivity to other people. It’s like blogging or e-mailing on steroids maybe. I don’t know why you’d be upset about it though.
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That site is loaded with perves and pedos.
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Second life SUCKS!!!
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