8 Social Networking Sites for Businesses

Social networking sites have become quite popular over the last decade, and they continue to be a favorite way for people to connect with friends, family and even businesses. As such, if you are a business owner, you can easily maximize your exposure to a global audience by taking advantage of this fantastic marketing method. Listed below are eight of the top social networking sites for businesses today.

1. Facebook

When looking for the top social networking sites for businesses, Facebook is likely to be number one. Millions upon millions of people all over the world use Facebook every day to connect with friends, family and favorite businesses. There are many ways that Facebook can help you; however, the best thing about it is that it provides you with an effective marketing venue.

It is also free to create an account with Facebook, and you can easily communicate with prospective and existing customers. Facebook can also help you generate leads, as each time existing customers like one of your posts, their friends will see that post as well. Additionally, since you are able to interact with your customers directly, you can build a more solid and personal relationship with them.

“Facebook is the new religion” by Ashton Kutcher

Finally, your competition more than likely will also be using Facebook. What this means for you is that you can keep abreast of what your competition is doing and use the information you get to improve your own strategies. Furthermore, you can find out what mistakes they may have made and steer away from them, yourself.

2. LinkedIn

LinkedI can help your business in many different ways, from networking and generating leads to hiring employees and building a customer base. When creating your LinkedIn profile, be sure to add such things as your website link, blog links, YouTube videos, banners and/or Twitter feeds.

By adding these items, you can increase your company’s ranking in search engines and connect with other social networking sites. This will, of course, greatly broaden your customer base. If you choose, you can also add product features, informative articles or newsletters to help bring attention to your business.

People who choose to follow you on LinkedIn can be extremely valuable because it makes you visible to their friends as well. Other ways to benefit from LinkedIn include joining groups related to your industry, having customers write reviews on your profile and using the analytics tab to find out what is of interest to your followers.

3. YouTube

YouTube is another one of the top social networking sites for businesses today. If you have a website or product that you would like to promote, YouTube is the place to do it. Furthermore, YouTube can significantly help you boost your ratings in search engines. It also allows you to connect with other social sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Millions of consumers visit YouTube each day, and if they see a video that interests them, they often share it with their friends and family. This is great, in that it helps broaden your audience to more and more people by the minute. If your video goes viral, it can potentially reach millions of people all over the world.

One thing you always need to remember is to make sure that you include a link to your website in your video. What good would it be for your video to go viral if people could not go to your website? This is free advertising that could help to make you loads of money.

4. Pinterest

In the past year, there has been a large surge in the number of people who use Pinterest. Pinterest is a place where users can design a board with such things as pictures, recipes or videos. As a business owner, you can use this to your advantage by pinning such things to your board as product photos and marketing videos.

As people see your pins, if they like them, they can share them with their own friends. They can even choose to share them on other social sites. As you see, you can gain a large following in no time at all. However, be sure to add the link to your website on all of your pins to encourage users to visit your site.

If you have accounts with other social sites such as Facebook or Twitter, you can share your pins on those accounts as well, which will increase your visibility. By using Instagram, you can make your photos look all the more appealing. Add a few pictures of your staff and office to personalize your board and make it unique.

5. Twitter

No list of the top social networking sites for businesses would be complete without adding Twitter. There are many ways that Twitter can help your business including helping to build your brand, market to prospective customers and communicate with existing customers.

With Twitter’s MarketMeSuite, you can easily promote your brand while connecting with a select consumer base. You can also drive traffic to your website by providing various links to your site or blog posts in tweets. By using Twitter’s tool known as Hashwork, you can connect with your staff and send them important files.

When you use the Twitter search feature, you can easily find people who are posting about things that are relevant to your business. Using this information, you can then send those people such things as product recommendations and private messages stating what your company offers.

6. StumbleUpon

StumbleUpon is a social networking site that allows its users to add websites they like to their profiles. Once a site has been added to a profile, it can be seen by all of the user’s friends. This can definitely work to your advantage when someone likes your website or blog.

First of all, when you join StumbleUpon, you can choose a category that your business fits in. When users choose that category, they will be directed to your site. With millions and millions of StumbleUpon users, you are sure to receive hundreds or even thousands of visitors to your site each day.

If you do not have time to fully participate in the StumbleUpon community, you can join their Paid Discovery program. This program makes your website visible to people who are looking for new sites that they can visit. This service costs 10 cents for every person who chooses to click on your website.

7. Digg

Digg is a social media site that offers an effective way to gain traffic to your site. This is possible because people who use Digg are looking for new websites and information they can use. When you create a profile on Digg, it is essential to make it appealing to your intended audience.

If you make your profile attractive and include useful information, your are likely to attract many users and get more Diggs. Pay attention to any comments you receive, as this is a great chance to communicate with people who are interested in what you have to offer. Additionally, be sure to stay active on the site and post daily updates.

You will also want to try and make as many friends on Digg as you can. In this way, when your friends Digg something that you posted, their friends will see it as well. The more friends you have, the better your chances of getting your profile and business noticed.

8. Yelp

One of the top social networking sites for businesses that are small or just starting out is Yelp. Yelp is a social site that is powered by customer reviews. As such, it can be a terrific marketing tool for your business. There is no cost to register for a basic listing with Yelp.

When you list your company with the site, you need to be sure that you include all of the requested data. If you do not, potential customers may very well move on to your competition. Additionally, make sure that you keep your information updated as necessary.

The best thing about Yelp is that you have the ability to communicate to a broad audience of potential customers. You can also send out special announcements to help you gain an advantage over competition. Furthermore, the site provides you with “badges” that you can post to your website or blog. These badges link to your Yelp page and let people know that you have had good reviews.

If you have a business and are looking for free or close-to-free ways to market yourself, check out these top social networking sites for businesses. Also you can see other Social Networking Sites for business.

Utilizing several is a great way to rise above your competition, increase traffic to your website, broaden your customer base and generate more profits.

Share your comment below and tell us what you think about Social Networking Sites and how this can be productive in business.