Key Tools for Social Media Marketing

by: Heather Jewell

picture courtesy of : Sociale Media Marketing

If you are intimidated by the term "social networking" this article will help you see the light behind the hype. Sites like Linked In, Plaxo, Twitter, and Facebook are your friends and can help you reach your target market while building meaningful connections. The following tips will guide you through the maze and help you create a winning strategy.

Social networks are useful tools for connecting to people that you already know and people that may help you obtain your business goals. Social networks allow you to invite others to connect to you and in turn you may request connections from people already in their network. For business owners, this is a must. Having a presence on at least one social networking site will help build your connections and increase your bottom line.

These accounts are not to be taken lightly. Just like any type of marketing, social networking requires time and effort. The best way to start is to create time within your schedule every week to explore connections, groups, and articles on how to maximize your success. Some of the most successful social networking sites are:

• Linked In
• Facebook
• Plaxo

Common traits of social networking sites:

• Events
• RSS feed
• Messaging yools
• Discussion forms/tools
• Profile information
• Groups

Other social sites that becoming popular are:

• Twitter- This is a social networking site that allows people to have a constant feed about what they are doing. Others can connect to you and see what you are doing all the time.
• Digg- A social news site that enables people to share interesting news articles, links, and stories from all over the Internet.
• Little Engine- It is a community of small businesses that share information and news about each other to boost business and encourage people to buy local.
• Flickr- This site allows for the sharing and management of images.
• Ning- This site helps you create your own social network.

There are a many ways to get connected online. The best strategy is to try out a couple different social networking tools, explore them, understand them, and make time to make them work. Don't try to use all the sites out there because no one has time to keep up with all of them. Explore, plan, proceed.

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