Social networks are online communities or groups of people or individuals who share information on or about common interests. While the word 'social' suggests non-business interests, social networks are increasingly being used as marketing resources.
There are many social networking websites – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace to name a few. While each website is different in its look, feel and target audience, there are similarities in the process of using them.
Step 1: Sign up
You are required to be a member of each site before you begin using it. Becoming a member is usually free, though some sites offer additional services via a paid membership upgrade. Becoming a member involves completing a sign-up form with your name, email address, etc, and agreeing to the site’s Terms and Conditions. Either at the time of signing-up or shortly after, via email, you are given your member details to access the site.
Step 2: Create your profile
Your profile is your individuality in a social network. It defines who you are and what your life is about. While different websites may be focused on different aspects of you and your life, they generally encourage you to provide as much information about yourself as possible – your name, age, birth date, occupation, schools you attended, jobs you’ve had, hobbies, interests, etc.
Step 3: Define your security/privacy settings
The larger and better-known social networking websites all allow you to define your own security settings, ie who gets to see any or all of your private information as defined in your profile. With the growing concern of information security on the web, social networking websites have adopted stringent measures to secure their users’ information.
Step 4: Network
Once you’ve completed the above mentioned steps, you can begin joining the various communities, groups and/or forum discussions which the website offers. At this point, each social networking website will vary depending on its focus. Usually, you can search for groups in your specific areas of interest. Some groups allow all site members to join, some require additional information before allowing you to join, some require a referral and some are closed. Some sites will allow you to start your own interest group.
Business value
There are varying opinions on the value of social networking for business purposes. There are people who suggest that it’s invaluable to their business success and there are others who suggest it’s a waste of time and effort. Even the experts are divided on the business value of social networking.
Most people agree however, that the future of social networking presents enormous potential for business. If used wisely social networking can be used:
- to create and maintain brand awareness
- as an online management tool
- as a recruiting tool
- to help you learn about new technologies and competitors
- as a lead generation tool to intercept potential prospects
- to drive users to your website.
Social networking is a financially low-cost investment, however, successful social networking requires a significant amount of time and effort. For smaller business owners, time is money. So, while it’s relatively cheap to become involved in social networking, successfully continuing the practice can become an expensive exercise.
Will you make a profit on the exercise? It’s difficult to say. There is no magic 'how to' with social networking currently. As a minimum though, you should:
- investigate social networking sites to see if there’s potential for your business
- assess the true cost of your involvement in terms of money, time and effort
- continue investigating social networking, it is continuously and rapidly changing.
This article originally appeared on the Ask Us How website. NSW Business Chamber Members have access to this site, which features hundreds of practical articles and other resources to help you manage and grow your business.
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