Social Networking Background.
In the beginning, there was the bulletin board system, an online meeting place (accessed over telephone lines using a modem) that enabled users to communicate with a central system where they could download files or games and post messages.
“Social networking has been around almost since advent of the Internet and took the form of the passive e-mailing or of forums and blogs. However, it didn’t really become popular until the early part of the last decade, with the conception of sites, like Friendster and Ryze, a predecessor to LinkedIn.
Today, the most commonly used social networking sites are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
At its launch in 2004, Facebook was restricted to users with a Harvard University e-mail address. Even as it grew to support other universities, it remained restricted to users with university e-mail addresses. In 2005, Facebook expanded to include high school students, then professionals inside corporate networks, and, eventually, everyone everywhere.
Then came Twitter. With a constant river of conversation about any and all topics, Twitter is really a social instant messaging application limited to 140 characters per post, which differs in application from the other sites.
LinkedIn is a business suit, in that it is designed strictly as a tool for business interactions. Facebook is business casual, and Twitter is a social networking party you attend after hours.
Social network marketing.
According to Barb Mosher, a Web solution architect for Suite 101, “social network marketing is fast on the rise and is currently the second most popular online marketing tactic. Companies can create a group or network that people join, and companies demonstrate and share their knowledge and expertise to this focused group of individuals.”
Social networks provide a place to turn a stranger into a friend and a friend into a customer and build on the advantages of word-of-mouth marketing, then publicise and showcase your abilities.
All that said, regardless of the type of social networking individuals or companies become involved in, you need to be - “friends with”, “tweeting to” or “linked in” with people who are stakeholders in your business and will at some point give you some work. After all that’s what most business people want, and where the hard work stars.
In my opinion it’s easy to build a network of people to interact with who are strictly family, friend, friends of friends, complete strangers or perhaps a few “celebs” on twitter. However, with these type of contacts you are unlikely to either develop or maintain a small contracting business in the mediun or long term. How to gain useful contacts that will maintain your business is where the hard work starts and will be subject of another blog.
Until next time. Thanks for taking time to read this.
Ian.
If you have any comments, good or bad please let me know.
www.johnstoneselectricalservices.co.uk
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