Social Networking, The Pros and Cons of Social Networks

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Posted on 27th April 2009 by admin in social networks

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Social Networking has become increasingly popular nowadays as there are a lot of sites that offer this service. MySpace and Friendster are two of the most popular sites that aim to build communities of people who share common interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others.

THE PROS

A social networking site is like a virtual meeting place where people can hang out and discuss different topics. Anything under the sun, in fact. Some use these networking sites to promote their blogs, to post bulletins and updates or to use them as a bridge to a future love interest.

These are just a few of the reasons why social networking is getting a lot of attention lately — it makes life more exciting for many people.

THE CONS

However, it would be best to make sure that safety and security are the topmost concerns of the social networking site that you currently use. This is because social networking sites require or give you the option to provide personal information such as your name, location, and email address. Unfortunately some people can take this as an opportunity for identity theft. They can copy your information and pretend to be “you” when engaging in illegal activities. Bad news! So be cautious with what you enter into an online networking site.

You could fall into the trap of someone who pretends to be somebody else. For example, they might offer you a job or want to meet up with you just to get your money. This can lead to cyberstalking, where the stalker uses electronic media such as the Internet to pursue or harass you.

THE CONCLUSION

So take your time and be careful in choosing who to trust so you can hopefully avoid this sort of unpleasant thing happening to you. Apart from that, social networking is great thing.

By: Gary Harvey

About the Author:
If you found this article helpful, you might appreciate my FREE report called “GET TO THE MONEY FASTER“. Get it now at http://eprofitnews.org

Article by Gary Harvey of http://FindHotMarkets.com the Internet’s BIGGEST LIST of ways to find hot niches, best selling products and hot markets.



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Do You Know the Difference Between Social Networking, Social Media and Social Marketing?

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Posted on 19th April 2009 by admin in social marketing

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When I discuss social networking, social media, SEO, SEM and social marketing with small business owners for the first time, many are overwhelmed and confused about what they really are and how they impact their business. They know that they are all important, but not sure why. They know they need to establish an effective social web presence, but not sure how. If you feel similar frustration, let me share a little light on a couple of these subjects.

What is Social Media?

In a nut shell social media is content designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using social tools such as social networks, business networks, forums, bookmarking, video sharing, etc. Social media are web-based technologies that transform traditional broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). It allows you to not just talk at your customer; it allows you to talk with and interact with your customer in a way that was never possible before.

What is Social Marketing?

Social Marketing is the actual marketing strategy and implementation of your efforts to effectively market yourself on the internet utilizing social media and social networks as well as related strategies that utilize SEO “Search Engine Optimization” and SEM “Search Engine Marketing/Monetization.”

Wikipedia describes social media marketing as:

“the act of using social networks, online communities, blogs, wikis or any other collaborative Internet form of media for marketing, sales, public relations and customer service. Common social media marketing tools include Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.”

Where I believe that most small business owners run into trouble is that they see the action side of social marketing and not the planning side of social marketing. The action side has two primary components:

Create traffic through videos, tweets, or even blog entries that attract attention, link energy, and become viral in nature. Traffic and link energy is the element that makes social marketing effective, it replicates a message not through purchase of an ad, but thorough user to user contact. Identify and connect with visitors and capture targeted connections, prospects and customers. Building a base for your brand or company to grow from.

Action for the sake of it is ineffective. Many company’s implement social media marketing campaigns because they either are told it is important or their competition is doing it. They jump in doing what they see and hear everyone else doing, accomplish nothing and become frustrated by the time and money that they have wasted.

Defining Your Small Business SMS “Social Marketing Strategy”

Before you jump into social marketing head first, you need to establish an effective SMS “Social Marketing Strategy” that will identify

What are your internet presence goals and objectives. (Develop a contact list, website monetization, marketing information, brand development) Who is your target connection and customer that you want to attract, identify and capture. What are the most effective social networks and media tools to reach your target and achieve your goals.

You can not be all things to all people. Only after you ask and answer the three questions above can you develop and implement an effective social media marketing campaign that will be successful and achieve your goals. Now you may have multiple plans, using multiple social resources, but the key is to always start with the SMS!

By: Bill Sifflard

About the Author:
About The Author Bill Sifflard
With over thirty years experience as an entrepreneur, an executive, an author and as a small business consultant, Bill Sifflard has a long history of experience and success establishing start-ups and bringing innovation and efficiency to small business and new expanding markets. As a premiere Social Marketing Innovator, Bill is changing how small business markets themselves using the internet and Social Networking.

To learn more about Bill and his company Bssential Small Business Solutions you can visit http://www.bssentials.com or follow his blog at http://newentrepreneuressentials.com



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